AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for July 8, 2026 – Full Text

Source: New Zealand First

Introduction

Good afternoon and thank you all for taking time out of your busy lives to be here today.

New Zealand First started our campaign for the 2026 election the day after the 2023 election.  

We knew that winning in 2023 was just the first stepping stone for not only our party, but our country, in turning the fortunes and direction of New Zealand around.

We have worked hard over the past three years to fight for the changes we promised, and that our country needed, to keep the left out, build a new foundation for the future, and prepare for 2026.

It is vital that we as a country realise that if we don’t win in 2026 the opportunity will be lost to make the real changes we need in this country, and the values of our enemies will destroy the chance we have to make this country great again.

This year New Zealand First began our election meetings in March, first with a packed hall in Tauranga with over 1000 people attending, and we have been travelling around the country filing halls every week and will be continuing to do so through until the election.

Public meetings are the lifeblood and essence of democracy. It is where you go and connect, talk, and listen to the people.  

It is where people come to hear what our party stands for and what our vision and plans are for the future that affects them.

It is to the detriment of democracy that other parties just are not holding any real public meetings. 

The so-called ‘public meetings’ they sporadically have are either organised and ticketed events attached to other organisations, or just organic small halls layered with party members.

New Zealand First is the only party that not only has open door public meetings, but we are getting the numbers packing the halls like no other party can.

That is simply because New Zealand First is resonating with ordinary, hard-working kiwis, who want a voice in parliament that represents them.

They are sick of the status quo, sick of the swing between Pepsi and Coke, and sick of politicians who can’t call a spade a spade.

New Zealand First is resonating because we are party that represents nationalism, patriotism, social conservatism, and most of all just plain common sense.

No other party can claim that, because those values that seemed so foundational in leadership not so long ago, are now viewed as some sort of disease to the other parties.

New Zealand First is nationalist, patriotic, and conservative – words which have now become viewed upon as being some sort of evil, and other politicians avoid like the plague.

We stand proud to not only stand for those values, but to fight for them.  And to fight on your behalf to create a country that is proud of who we are in the world, proud of our country and what we stand for, proud our history and our traditional kiwi values.

There is only one party that does that and you are looking at it.

All of the other parties are either self-confessed globalists, socialists, Marxists, separatists – or all of the above.

The problem for all of those other parties is that there is a sea-change in politics that is happening around the world – and it is happening here in New Zealand.

The last time we stood here in Warkworth, just four years ago, New Zealand First was out of parliament, ignored, marginalised by the media, and polling at 1%. Well, we aren’t any more.

Here we are today and those same people in the media are not ignoring us any longer. They aren’t asking if we will get back in, they are all asking how many more seats we will have in November, and just how strong we will be in the next government.

We have the policy, the team, and the party machine to turn this election on its head.

And they are all deathly afraid. Just look at the article today from our best mate ‘News of the World’ fame Andrea Vance.

Vance has written another pathetic butthurt ‘opinion piece’ attacking New Zealand First. 

No one cares what Vance thinks. She might think they do in her little Wellington Bluesky bubble full of lanyard-wearing woke lefty losers, but there’s a reason New Zealand First support is growing out in the real world. 

We are travelling around the country every week packing the halls with ordinary kiwis. We run out of seats and people are flowing out the door – we’re winning and her and her mates can’t stand it. 

We are the enemy of what she stands for and the enemy of the woke mind virus that has infected so much of our mainstream media that they can’t even figure out why no one trusts their industry anymore. 

Her loser ‘News of the World’ opinions do nothing but confirm we are directly over the target. 

It’s Vance, and people like her, that is the reason we are doing so well and why we will win in November – the poetic part is that she doesn’t even know it.

This sort of mudslinging behaviour from the media will continue until the election – it is a well-worn path for them and for us during elections. 

For voters across the country, to actively take part in this election they desperately need to be given the facts, be given ‘both sides of the story’ as Phil Collins once sang, and not editorialising opinions from reporters, not of what politicians have said, but their view of what has been said, all the time denying voters the truth of what was said so that they can be the judge.

That is the essence of democracy, Abraham Lincoln’s definition, ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’.  To paraphrase what American Ambassador to the United Nations, Daniel Moynihan once said, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts”. For democracy to exist voters are entitled to hear and establish for themselves what they believe the facts are – not be victims like school children from ‘a media on high’ serving up only the ‘media’s facts’.

This is critical, because in other parts of the world people are only told what governments want them to hear and are the victims of propaganda and spin which they know, when looking offshore in an IT world at true democracies, cannot be true.

Never has this country needed more a high-quality media acting responsibly, giving you the facts, undiluted political policy and views, and leaving it up to you to decide. 

That is your right, and without it, democracy becomes but a shallow pretence. 

Bold Policies

New Zealand First has already announced a number of election policies that we believe are needed to affect real change in the direction of the country and for the prosperity of kiwis.

We have announced policies to break up the power companies so we stop power companies owning the market and ripping consumers off.

We have announced that we will split up the supermarket duopoly which has a stranglehold on sky-high food prices. ,

We have announced that we will re-establish a competitive state-owned bank so we can stop this continued siphoning of billions of dollars of kiwis money offshore to a foreign country.  

We have announced that we will return mining royalties created in the regions back to the regions. Our regions economic future is New Zealand’s economic future. When the regions do well our country does well. Mining is essential to New Zealand’s future, it creates jobs, exports, and an extraction industry that is essential to a prosperous country.

New Zealand is abundant with resources and we need to stop the green luddites dictating to us that our future should be held back because of some out of touch ideology.

We also announced our KiwiSaver policy of making it compulsory with automatic sign-up at birth $1000 kickstart.

By the way this was a full month before National decided to steal our KiwiSaver policy and claim it as their own.   

We have announced that we will abandon the Paris Accord agreement so we can get back to some common sense.

It is a pointless charade being shoved down our throats by a bunch of globalists.

We are nationalists and we need to look after our own country first – not hand over anywhere up to $22 billion overseas when we create just 0.17% of the entire world’s CO2 emissions.

Think about it, four countries, US, China, Russian, and India, combined are responsible for just under 60% of the world’s CO2 emissions. We are responsible for just 0.17%.

If New Zealand sunk into the South Pacific tomorrow, taking all of our emissions with it, we would have zero effect on the world’s climate.

And yet, if the Green Party ever gets into power, they want us to create a rod for our own backs and beat ourselves senseless with it.  They will sooner see our country go broke in the name of their globalist wacky ideology, than look after kiwis and our country first.

Here’s the idiocy of it all. China built more than 50 large coal powered power plants just last year – that’s one a week. And what did the Labour Party do? Ban coal. Close down Marsden Point. What are the Greens doing? Screaming blue-murder that the world is going to end because New Zealand isn’t cutting our emissions enough.  These MPs are taking us for suckers.

Just two weeks ago, the former longest serving Labour Party PM in the UK, Tony Blair, made a similar statement to New Zealand First’s about what the world needs to do on the Paris Accord. The world is catching on and we are going to get left behind in crippling debt and a swamp of regulations on our productive sector if we remain signed up to the Paris Agreement.

We need to stop this nonsense.

We also announced that New Zealand First will disestablish Auckland Council’s ‘Independent Māori Statutory Board’.

We will disestablish this unelected body that has exercised significant influence over council decision making since the creation of the Auckland Super City in 2010.

The amalgamation of Auckland’s multiple councils was intended to deliver stronger representation, lower costs, and more efficient governance. Instead, as incoming Mayor Wayne Brown found, it has produced a large and increasingly remote bureaucracy in which key decisions are shaped by unelected officials, parallel governance structures, and statutory bodies that are not accountable to ratepayers. 

Although originally established to provide advice, its statutory documents and appointments have become embedded across council planning, funding, procurement, and performance systems.

Aucklanders were never asked whether they agreed to fund or empower a parallel governance system within their council. 

Ratepayers now pay millions of dollars annually to support IMSB operations, including $3.5 million last year alone, despite having no ability to elect or remove its members. This has contributed to a growing democratic deficit at a time when Aucklanders face rising rates, increasing debt, and reductions in core services.

The removal of the IMSB will ensure that those who influence public spending and public decision making are directly accountable to the public. It does not prevent Auckland Council from engaging with Māori or recognising their interests, rather it ensures that such engagement occurs within democratically accountable structures.

It will ensure continuity of council operations while restoring transparency, accountability, and public trust.

We have bold policies. But bold policies are needed to create a fair playing field in the power, food, and banking systems so we can make real change to kiwis lives, drive down the cost of living, give kiwis a fair go, and take back control of our country.

Bold polices are needed to create real change in the future direction of our country.

Citizens only voting

And we have another campaign policy announcement.

We are announcing today that New Zealand First will change the law that only citizens can vote in local and general elections.

In 1975 the law changed in New Zealand.

Prior to then, the right to vote in New Zealand local and national elections was granted only to British subject adults who had been resident in New Zealand for at least a year. Canada and Australia had similar voting laws.  

When Canada and Australia changed to citizens-only, New Zealand made a different choice.

We removed the “British subject” requirement and replaced it with any permanent resident who had been resident here for a year or more. 

The big problem is the Electoral Act definition of “permanent resident” is different to the “permanent resident” definition in immigration terms.

To become a permanent resident under the immigration system, you need to have been on a resident visa first for two years. But in the Electoral Act, anyone on a visa without an expiry date counts as a permanent resident.

That means, in certain circumstances, someone can be eligible to vote in our country’s general election if they are living in our country on an indefinite visa after just one year.

The problem is any permanent resident who has gone through the normal application process, after just two years living in New Zealand, can vote.

They can vote on who the government is, they can vote on who the local council is, they can even vote in referendums that would fundamentally change the social fabric of our society.

Is this what we really mean by democracy in our country?

Is this what we really want in our democracy in our country?

Voting in our country should be a privilege of those who have sworn allegiance to New Zealand and who have made the commitment to make New Zealand their home and their future.  

If you haven’t made that commitment or sworn that allegiance, we are happy to let you live here permanently, but why should you get a say in how this country is run or governed?

New Zealand First will restore the basic democratic principle that the right to decide New Zealand’s future belongs to New Zealand citizens.

Voting in general elections should be reserved for those who have made the full legal and civic commitment to this country. 

Permanent residence gives people the right to live, work, study, and build a life in New Zealand. Citizenship is different. 

Citizenship is the formal bond of allegiance, belonging, responsibility, and democratic authority.

New Zealand First believes that distinction should matter again.

War on Woke, War for Democracy

During the last election campaign, and right here in this hall, New Zealand First declared a war on woke, and a war to save our democracy.

We stood here and asked for your vote so that we could fight in government to deliver what we promised.

And we have.

We have won many battles, but ladies and gentlemen, the war is not yet over.

New Zealand First has introduced a bill to parliament that will define what a woman and man is in law.

For us to have to legislate this basic biological reality shows how much the ‘woke mind virus’ has infected our society.

It is astounding that legislation like this is even needed – but that is how woke our country, and most of the western world has become.

This bill is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the term ‘woman’ in law.

What is stunning, is that the representatives of “Rural Women NZ” have actually decided to come out against this bill.

They submitted to the select committee without even consulting their membership.

It is typical of so many elitist groups.  They state what their ideological position is, and if you disagree, you are wrong and have no ability to have a say, you get cancelled, and you are out.

You would think that understanding biology was pretty important in farming.

It would be amazing to see farmers trying to milk a bull. 

They are now trying to say that biological reality doesn’t matter on the farm.

But it seems now, when the representatives of Rural Women NZ leave the farm, the suffer from the same wokeness that is afflicting Wellington bureaucrats and the purple-haired Green Party weirdos.

What the mainstream media are refusing to report is that views like the leaders of Rural Women NZ are the minority.

There was a Curia poll conducted not so long ago which showed 51% of kiwis supported the bill, and just 29% were against it.

Did the media show that poll? No. This is the same polling company that the media regularly rely on and report for their political polls.

But no, they won’t report this poll because it doesn’t suit their left-wing narrative.

And that sort of behaviour from the mainstream media is just outright cheating.

New Zealand First is the only party that campaigned on keeping men out of women’s sports, keeping men out of women’s and girl’s changing rooms, and we have received two petitions to protect the term ‘woman’ in legislation.

We were told at the time, by politicians and many in the mainstream media, that we were going down a ‘rabbit hole’ and ‘on another planet’. 

Well, the pendulum is swinging back towards common sense and is proving us right, which begs the question, which planet are the rest of them on?

We are fighting back the cancerous social engineering being pushed in society by a woke minority.

But this issue is just one in a heap of concerning elements and the underlying creep of woke social engineering.

This leftist group-think, condoned by too many on the right, has been mostly hidden from society in the way it has implanted itself in New Zealand, in education, health, government departments, and universities.

Ladies and gentlemen, we need common sense brought back to our country.

We cannot underestimate the nature and importance of the war on woke.

It is not only things like DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in our public sector, but also in our education system.

New Zealand First set out in the election to get rid of the ‘Relationship, and Sexual Education’ guidelines in our schools – we have done that. 

We campaigned on ensuring the pathway of separatism and cultural Marxism was stopped with the likes of He Puapua and co-governance – we are doing that.

We campaigned on ensuring English is an official language, that our country’s name remains New Zealand, that English names are used as a primary name on all departments – we have done that.

We campaigned on ensuring we have fairness in women’s sports – that men cannot compete against women and girls – we have done that.

We campaigned to stop the use of Puberty Blockers for children – we have done that.

We will continue to be the voice of common sense and at the forefront of the war on woke on behalf of you and every other concerned New Zealander.

Our message to the bureaucracy and any other political party pursuing such policies is simple. Do you want to be part of the solution or do you want to remain part of the problem?

If their choice is the latter – to be part of the problem – then our response is – “get out of the way”.

Conclusion

On August 21 2025, we stood here on this stage, and asked you to give your support to New Zealand First so that we could get the chance to represent you in parliament.

We are asking you again to act, right here, right now, in your busy lives, to join our movement to save our New Zealand, to stand up to defend what New Zealand was, is, and could be.

In the coming campaign there will be many imitations. The ‘me too’s’ trying to climb aboard our vehicle of protest, construction, and eventual victory.

Ask yourselves, when they belatedly try and echo New Zealand First’s message, are any of these other voices authentic?

Ask, what is their track record on these matters?

As the Good Book says “By their deeds you will know them”

Strident idealistic promises you have heard before.  They are worthless without commitment, resolve and determination to make such dreams a reality.

In New Zealand’s history there have been politicians of different persuasions who deserve our respect. For the improvements they delivered to ordinary people.  Richard Seddon, Peter Fraser, Holyoake and others.

They did what is most difficult in politics – they did what is right.

The next few months to election 2026 will go by swiftly.

Let us together make one outcome happen.

Don’t let the next election be about “It’s our turn now”, or worse still, “Let’s change, they can’t be any worse than the last lot”.

In the words of that famous old Māori saying – “Not like the seagull, tossing and turning its head at every wave, but like the rock, steadfast against the surging sea”.

Please join us.

We have right on our side. 

And we, are going to win. 

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/winston-peters-continuing-to-be-the-voice-of-common-sense/

Source: New Zealand First

Introduction

Good afternoon and thank you for being here today.

First, thank you to Stuart Nash New Zealand First candidate for Napier, and Taine Randell New Zealand First candidate for Tukituki, for hosting us here in the Hawkes Bay today.

Stu and Taine are standing in Hawkes Bay electorates representing New Zealand First to bring hope for a different direction for the Bay.

Afterall, what have the current MPs don’t for this area over the past three years?

This election is going to be one like no other. There is a sea change happening around the world and it is happening here in New Zealand too – people are sick of the pendulum swing between Pepsi and Coke – they are voting for people who are not afraid to tell it like it is, for people who are offering hope for a change from the old party status quo of the past forty years that has failed to focus on ordinary hardworking kiwi battlers. 

Stu and Taine have a real chance here in the Bay to turn things around, but we need you to give us the tools to get the job done.

New Zealand First in Hawkes Bay

The government is investing in a racecourse transformation in the Hawkes Bay to help free up prime land for homes in Hastings. The project represents just over $77 million in the region, with a $20 million loan from the RIF and $57 million in co-funding from Hawkes Bay Racing, and NZ Thoroughbred Racing.

This will enable the development of homes where they are needed, create jobs for locals, and retain a valuable racing industry asset which has contributed to the local economy for over 150 years. 

We are going to relocate the racecourse and the new venue will be a state of the art hub for racing, equestrian sport, and community events.

Its modern racetrack will accommodate double the race meetings held previously.

The project will create more than 400 fulltime construction jobs during its construction phase, and once completed, the racecourse will sustain around 270 jobs across the local racing industry. 

It’s not just about bricks and mortar, it’s a boost to the Hawkes Bay economy.

An Election Like No Other

The election is a little over four months away, and we will start to see the other parties reverting to type, as they always do at election time, with no direction, plan, or policy that will give New Zealand the real change that we need to lead us out of the political swamp we find ourselves in.

There is a difference in this election that we haven’t seen in a long time. Kiwis are looking at what parties are offering as their values and principles in these uncertain times.

There will be the inevitable policies and promises made, and they are important, but kiwis are looking to a party that stands with them in their core values – that will change the current pathway we are on as a country. 

Labour

In the last few weeks, the Labour Party did something they haven’t done for the last the three years – they decided to announce some grand election policies, if you can call them policies, and the only thing that was ‘grand’ about them was how shallow they were.

They have announced three policies of “free stuff”.

They want to give “free” public transport above $20, “free” doctor visits, and now “free” pre-natal scans.

It took a bonfire of useless old policy, then two and half years, a lame excuse to wait for the budget, and all Labour could come up with was more “free” stuff.

Here’s a newsflash for the Labour Party: “Free” actually means taxpayers pay for it – because whether Labour understands it or not, money doesn’t grow on trees. And guess what. People who get the free stuff are the same taxpayers and workers who are going to pay for it. 

The fact is Labour Party no longer represents the workers.

The spiritual home of the Labour Party is the West Coast – the site of the miners’ strike in 1908 which gave rise to the party that once represented workers of New Zealand – the gold miners, the coal miners, the labourers, the foresters, the fishers, the hard working blue-collar battlers of our country. 

They represented those workers in the very industries which have now become the anathema of who and what the Labour Party represents today. Today Labour hates those industries.

The problem for Labour is they are now just the party of the ‘Professional Managerial Class’.

Look at their front bench, or their party list, and they can’t put half a Cabinet together. 

What’s worse, is those Labour MPs who somehow have made their way to the front bench have no real-life experience, no business experience, and no work experience.

Here is something about the Labour Party that voters will never forget.

The last three years of the Labour government oversaw a deteriorating economy, deteriorating education and health systems, worsening law and order on our streets, ramraids everywhere, massively increased debt, record immigration, crumbling infrastructure, a cost-of-living crisis, and a hugely divided society.

It shows just how far the Labour Party has descended away from its origins, and just how clearly they have abandoned the very people and industries who formed their party over a hundred and ten years ago.

Their focus now is on issues such as race and drumming up social justice rhetoric that only serves to divide our country and ignores the vast majority of New Zealanders who just want a functioning health system, a top-class education for their kids, first world wages, and an affordable home. 

They are now a party of lanyard wearing socialists who walk around in comfortable shoes.

For all those old school, egalitarian, common sense Labour voters out there who feel abandoned, you’ve only got one place to come, there is only one real party for the hard working, blue collar conservative kiwis, and you’re looking at it.

Why? Because New Zealand First has a working-class background.

Greens

As for the Greens – they are nuttier than squirrel scat and have the political IQ of mung beans.

They have proven themselves to be the most hypocritical, shallow, vacuous bunch of Marxists.

They have gone through more MPs than they have protests.

The biggest problem that the Greens have is their name. They are not a Green Party anymore.  They are no comparison to Rod Donald or Jannette Fitzsimons – who, despite all of their flaws, stood up, had a purpose, and had principles.

They have mostly forgotten the environment, they are more worried about pronouns and protests.

The Greens neither care nor understand the reality of our economic and social future as a country. 

They decided to foolishly wade into economics last week. 

They sent out a press release and confused $500 million, with $500 billion. Even the newest intern would know how ridiculous that number is, yet they put it out without hesitation.

Then they decided in their wisdom to put out their own budget. Then had to recall it and issue a correction because their calculations were out by $400 million. Then, not long after that, they had to recall that as well, and issue another correction because they found out they were actually out by $800 million. 

But here is arrogance for you.  They then virtue signalled “Well, at least we are transparent about our mistakes”.

They are economic morons. The Greens trying to come up with economic policy is like a bunch of kids trying to start a fire with gasoline and a blowtorch because they saw it work in a movie once. 

The truth is they care more about wokeness, unicorns, and a geopolitical war happening on the other side of the world that they know nothing about.  Just look at how few questions they ask about climate or the environment. 

The Green Party of just twenty years ago has morphed from an environmentally focussed party, with at least some values to back that up, to a Red-Party, valueless, rudderless, who think that anyone that disagrees with them is evil and should be shouted down.

The Māori Party

The Māori Party has to be a massive disappointed for Maoridom. 

They are a bunch of radical racists who wear cowboy hats and half the South Island’s pounamu around their necks. 

They think representing Māori means doing a haka in parliament and turning up twice a month. 

What have they done for Māori in the past three years? Zero.

They are currently polling at 1.5%. They claim that 17% of New Zealand population are Māori, so that means that not even ten percent of Māori even vote for them. Who do they represent exactly?

But get this, now they are actively telling Māori on the Māori roll to not party vote for them, but to party vote Labour or Greens. 

They keep up this pretence of the Māori roll, Māori seats, and Māori vote as being essential to the representation of Māori as some sort of principled position, yet they are wanting now to use Māori voters as a pawn to flippantly undermine democracy.

It just highlights what a disgrace they are to democracy and to Maoridom.

They will be lucky to win one seat this election if any at all. But we still see all these moronic mainstream media polls still counting the Māori Party as having six seats. 

They don’t even have six seats now. A third of their MPs have had enough and left the party already.

The point of this, is that no matter how much we point out how utterly disastrous the Greens and Māori Party would be for our country, the Labour Party would happily work with the mung beans and cowboy hats to get into power.

Think about that for a second.

And just quietly, for the umpteenth time.  New Zealand First will not be going with Labour. So the media can stop asking me “gripper” questions.

You know what a “gripper” is don’t you? It’s a wanker that won’t let go.

New Zealand First

Reflecting back, at this time before the last election, no one gave our party any chance of getting back to parliament.  Today, we are here, and the question for the media is no longer – if we will get back, its ‘how many seats will we get?’

Well, we’ve got news for everyone, and this time it’s all good.  We will turn these current media polls into confetti.

We have been working hard over the past two and a half years to build our machine for this campaign.

We are on a pathway to a major shift in the political landscape.

We have the team.  We have the candidates. We have the party, and we have the growing support of kiwis.

This year have been packing the halls around the country with ordinary hardworking kiwi battlers who see the only party talking common sense.

They all see what makes New Zealand First different from every other party.

We are the only socially conservative party.

We are the only nationalist party. That’s nationalist with a capital “N”.

We are the only patriotic party – a word that is now so often criticised.  We stand proud to be patriots of New Zealand. 

What’s most important, is that we are the only party that can counter-balance the present spectrum of extremists in parliament.

New Zealand First is not just running in another election this year, we intend to turn this election on its head.

Bold policies

New Zealand First started travelling around the country, packing the halls, and talking to the people earlier this year, because we knew this was going to be a long campaign.

We have already announced a number of election policies that we believe are needed to affect real change in the direction of the country and for the prosperity of kiwis.

We have announced policies to break up the power companies, split the supermarket duopoly, re-establish a competitive state owned bank, return mining royalties created in the regions back to the regions, we announced our KiwiSaver policy of making it compulsory with automatic sign-up at birth $1000 kickstart.

By the way this was a full month before National decided to steal our KiwiSaver policy and claim it as their own.  

We have bold policies. But bold policies are needed to create a fair playing field in the power, food, and banking systems so we can make real change to kiwis lives, drive down the cost of living, give kiwis a fair go, and take back control of our country.

Paris Accord

A few weeks ago the Prime Minister said that National will be doing its best to honour the Paris obligations. If that’s true, up to $22 billion of our hard-earned taxpayers’ money is going offshore.

It’s just common sense that instead of draining our money offshore, into foreign economies, we invest it looking after our own environment. 

And New Zealand First is the only party that believes that.

We need to look at the illogical state of what the Paris Accord actually means. Around sixty percent of the worlds CO2 emissions come from four countries – China, United States, Russia, and India. New Zealand’s emissions amount to only around 0.17%.

Why are we making a rod for our own backs, punishing our farmers and our taxpayers and our economy, when China or the US could sneeze and produce more CO2 overnight than we do in a year? 

Here is what a lot of people don’t know.  China built more than 50 large coal powered power plants just last year – that’s one a week. And what did the Labour Party do? Ban coal. Close down Marsden Point. What are the Greens doing? Screaming blue-murder that the world is going to end because New Zealand isn’t cutting our emissions enough.  These MPs are taking us for suckers.

Just two weeks ago, the former longest serving Labour Party PM in the UK, Tony Blair, made a similar statement to New Zealand First’s about what the world needs to do on the Paris Accord. The world is catching on and we are going to get left behind in crippling debt and a swamp of regulations on our productive sector if we remain signed up to the Paris Agreement.

We need to stop this nonsense.

New Zealand First is saying we need to get out of the Paris Accord altogether – and we will campaign on this issue in this election.

India Free Trade Agreement

New Zealand First is against the Indian Free Trade Agreement, for good reason. It is not the ‘great deal’ that has been portrayed by political parties and the media.

Here are four of the reasons why we are against this deal and the disastrous impact it will have on our country. 

1. The FTA that you have been told about, has unprecedented immigration settings including uncapped student numbers with working rights and 5000 visa holders entering New Zealand able to bring in families with them – which increases that number to 20,000+ at any one time. This is in addition to other uncapped immigration work visa pathways within the agreement. 

The Indian Government has described the FTA as providing mobility opportunities for Indian professionals, students and has noted that the temporary employment opportunities offered to Indian citizens are unprecedented. They have said our offer to India on temporary employment visas is more generous than we’ve made to any other FTA partner. We are simply asking: Why have we been more generous on migration with India than in any other FTA? Why has migration been made one of centrepieces of what is meant to be a free trade deal, not a free migration deal?

2. The UN co-governance framework UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, is in the agreement. This is the provision that created He Puapua and co-governance being embedded in our country. And special rights based on race.

3. The Paris Agreement is in the FTA – with possibly up to $22 billion being sent overseas. 

4. New Zealand must promote $33 billion of investment into India over just the next 15 years, otherwise India may claw back the agreement. Billions of our dollars into a foreign country when we are desperate for investment here in New Zealand. 

National, Act, and Labour have agreed to this Indian FTA for short term headline gains with basic and substantial long-term flaws and losses.

They are even now just realising New Zealand First was right about the immigration numbers and they are now trying to change the default immigration rules – but why just for India? Why not now put immigration restrictions in across all FTA partners and immigration.

Only New Zealand First is fighting against this FTA.

UNDRIP Clause

Who put the Paris Accord in the FTA? Because India certainly didn’t ask for it.

Who demanded the clause stating the recognition of UNDRIP was put in the FTA? India wouldn’t have because they don’t even recognise the concept of “indigenous people” in their country. 

This is the same UNDRIP that started the He Puapua report, remember that? And the He Puapua report was the start of the co-governance cancer that has since pervaded our country.

That clause is directly contrary to the coalition agreement between National and New Zealand First, which specifically disowns any UNDRIP adherence or recognition. So why is it in the FTA with India? And more importantly, why have the two other government parties, National and Act, signed up to it?

When the Act Party leader was asked how he could support such a provision, he said he did not know about it, and further when he raised it with the Minister for Trade, was assured that it did not exist. 

And yet, Gary Judd KC, who has written work for the Act Party, has called this clause a “Constitutional Trojan Horse – advancing change through political stealth.”

So, there you have it, you have the UNDRIP provision in the FTA, which India did not ask for, and two of the three political party leaders claiming no knowledge of it.

So to recap, you have a government that is signed up to not support UNDRIP, and yet one party goes to India and writes support for UNDRIP into a trade deal, and then returns to New Zealand and shrugs off all legitimate inquiry saying “there is nothing to see here”.

The Indian Free Trade Deal is a bad deal for our country. 

The Unbalanced FTA

The Indian FTA lacks balance, or any sense of equal proportion of sharing benefit between two nations.

Why do we say that? Here are some examples.

We remove tariffs on Indian goods on day one. India keeps exclusions, phase outs, quotas, and price thresholds into the distant future.

So we give India a clean concession, and we get back a mixed package.

There is no progress for our dairy products at all.

Apples, kiwifruit, honey, albumins are quota limited – wine remains subject to high residual tariffs. What does that mean, if not huge commercial constraints against success.

Apples, kiwifruit and honey access is linked to “economic cooperation action plans”. What does that mean? It means market access can become dependent on ‘government to government’ delivery, not business or export performance.

SPS and sustainable development are not subject to normal disputes settlement.

It means, New Zealand exporters have no strong remedies if they come up against regulatory barriers.

Are you now seeing why New Zealand First has been against this deal since we were belatedly given the fine details?

Ladies and gentlemen, we stand for export led domestic economic recovery. How will we do that whilst we are providing $33 billion to India over the next 15 years.

What is even more crazy, is that under this deal New Zealand can export apples to India for two months in a year – the two months that this country doesn’t even produce apples. So which horticulture expert thought this was a great idea?

But here is their best expectation, in cold hard facts – this deal of which the Prime Minister has made so much, alongside obsequious business leaders, is expected to lift our GDP by the staggering amount of 0.1%, or a tenth of one percent – by 2050.

Covert Immigration Changes

We now know that officials aware of work on changing immigration settings have warned that bringing in stricter requirements specifically targeting India and not other FTA partners could adversely affect the bilateral relationship with India.

This is evidence that New Zealand First was right about this FTA being an open door for a flood of immigrants.

The question is why are they planning on making these changes that just affect Indian migrants as part of the FTA, and does India know that is happening after they signed the deal?

If National wants to create tighter restrictions on Indian FTA immigrants, then they should be applied to all other of our FTA partners as well.

There are serious questions that need to be answered.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen, kiwis are amazingly resilient and, though we are affected by the past, we are more concerned with the future and the possibility it holds.

New Zealand was once the greatest country on earth and it can be again – that’s worth fighting for.

Times are tough.  But we are fighting for you. And we will never give up.

New Zealand First has been on a mission.

To fight for the ordinary hardworking kiwis who just want a country they are proud of.

A country that provides opportunity for you and your families.

A country that gives you hope for a better future.

We must not lose sight of how far we have come on this long road to recovery.

We have won many battles, but we are yet to win the war.

But, if you give us the tools, we will finish the job.

It hasn’t been easy, but the things in life worth doing are never easy.

It is what will build the character of our country.

It is what will build a country we are all proud of.

We must never forget that challenge.

We must never give up what our forebears fought and died for.

We must never stop believing in ourselves or our mission.

We must never stop believing in New Zealand.

That is our vision and our mission.

To protect and to save this great country New Zealand.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/winston-peters-an-election-like-no-other/

Source: New Zealand First

New Zealand First is announcing today that Michael Laws will stand for New Zealand First in the Waitaki Electorate at the general election.

Laws has spent more than four decades serving New Zealand through Parliament, local government, broadcasting and public advocacy. Born in Wairoa and raised in Whanganui, he graduated with First Class Honours in History from the University of Otago before completing a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at Victoria University. He was awarded a University Grants Committee Postgraduate Scholarship and was also a New Zealand Universities debating champion.

Laws entered Parliament in 1990, serving as a Member of Parliament for National and then New Zealand First until 1996. Following Parliament, he served as New Zealand First’s campaign director for the country’s first MMP general election in 1996.

He then established a successful career in broadcasting, publishing and journalism, becoming one of New Zealand’s best-known talkback hosts and the author of three bestselling books, including Gladiator: The Norm Hewitt Story. His work has spanned television, radio and print, earning a reputation as an independent and outspoken commentator.

Laws was elected Mayor of Whanganui in 2004 and re-elected in 2007, while also serving three terms on the district health board. As mayor, he championed innovative local initiatives, including pioneering anti-gang insignia bylaws that were later adopted nationally.

Since relocating to Central Otago in 2013, Laws has remained active in public service. He has represented the Dunstan constituency on the Otago Regional Council since 2016 and was comfortably returned as the leading vote-getter in the 2025 local body elections. He also helped establish Vision Otago, which secured significant representation on the council and now plays a leading role in its governance.

Laws has lived in the Waitaki electorate for more than a decade. His family has longstanding ties to the district: his father was Rector of Waitaki Boys’ High School, his youngest son attends St Kevin’s College in Oamaru, and Laws worked at Oamaru’s Brydone Hotel while studying at the University of Otago. He and his wife Cheryl live in Cromwell.

Laws will be an asset to the New Zealand First team bringing a wealth of experience, skills, and leadership to parliament.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/michael-laws-to-stand-for-nz-first/

Source: Opportunity Party

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By Qiulae Wong

The spending accusations have been flying this week – National’s dramatic AI-generated movie trailer about Labour’s alleged fiscal hole, Winston basking in the glory of a typo in a Greens press release that referred to billions instead of millions, a travel budget blow-out for Shane Jones’ trip to Canada to schmooze global mining companies.

And while everyone shakes down each others’ money trees, the one expense they’re silent on is the generous MP allowances and remuneration packages that help them grow their personal property portfolios. Every dollar matters – until it doesn’t. 

At Opportunity we don’t believe politicians should be able to use their accommodation and office allowances to pay rent on property they already own, nor should they be able to direct private superannuation funds to invest in property that they’ll ultimately own. 

That’s why we’ve made a clear statement that, if elected, we will not use these allowances in this way. Opportunity MPs will be able to use relevant allowances to meet actual and reasonable accommodation costs and office expenses, but not to feather their own nest. 

The case for an independent referee

Thankfully come Thursday we saw a very sensible shift to the topic of an independent costings unit. 

Opportunity called on National and Labour to come together on this back in July 2025. 

The case for it today is exactly as it was back then. Bring greater trust and integrity to our election debates. Stop the mudslinging over phantom ‘fiscal holes’ and actually have a serious conversation about what’s affordable, what’s fair, and what trade-offs are involved.

This isn’t a radical idea. Democracies around the world already do it. A practical, independent costing unit that focuses on transparency and credibility would be a significant improvement on what we have today.

Both National and Labour think it’s a good idea, albeit with some differences in opinion over exactly how it should work. But the biggest handbrakes here are ACT and NZ First. 

If Opportunity were a coalition partner for either a National or Labour-led government, we would be urging them to find common ground, instead of dragging them further away from consensus. 

The same applies to infrastructure

Another encouraging development this week was the growing cross-party consensus around the need for a long-term national infrastructure plan.

Infrastructure projects take decades to plan and build while political cycles last three years.

Every government promises certainty. Every opposition promises to review projects. Every election creates the possibility that priorities change again.

The result is higher costs, lower productivity, and less confidence from the private sector.

Presumably, the report showing that $11.8 billion has been wasted from infrastructure flip flopping over the past 25 years has played a role in getting our political leaders to the table on this. 

The risk, however, is that when things get tough someone reneges on the position, just like we’ve seen with the Zero Carbon Act. 

That’s why Opportunity will push for stronger independent institutions like the Infrastructure Commission and clearer decision-making frameworks to ensure these commitments survive. 

If we want infrastructure decisions to last longer than election cycles, we need structures that sit above day-to-day politics.

What we’re not costing: nature’s balance sheet

Meanwhile, there’s one gaping balance sheet hole that isn’t getting much attention at all. 

We’ve been blowing the budget on nature for decades. 

The Conservation Amendment Bill looks to make up to 60% of public conservation land available for disposal, exchange, or development.

In many cases, the changes seem aimed at making it easier to deal with small, low-value parcels of land that happen to sit within the conservation estate – old quarries, village halls, access strips. These might be legitimate cases for DOC to dispose of the land, but the public needs to be assured that land with actual ecological, heritage or cultural value is suitably protected and not disposed of. 

If Opportunity were in government, we would support strong and transparent disposal tests. We would also start from the principle that conservation land should remain owned by New Zealanders wherever possible. There may be circumstances where exchanges or disposals make sense, but the burden of proof should be high and the public benefit clear.

At the same time, we shouldn’t assume that every hectare of land administered by DOC must remain permanently locked into its current classification. Good stewardship requires judgment, not ideology.

The bigger issue this raises is that New Zealand still struggles to account for natural capital in the same way we account for financial capital.

When a road, factory or housing development generates economic activity, we can estimate the value fairly easily. When a wetland filters water, a forest stores carbon, or a landscape supports biodiversity and tourism, those benefits are often treated as free.

Imagine running a business that carefully tracked revenue while ignoring the deterioration of its machinery, buildings, and equipment.

Eventually the bill arrives.

We are consuming environmental assets that underpin our economy while often failing to account for their long-term value. If we’re serious about proper costing, then nature needs to be part of the conversation too.

The same principle applies to climate policy.

This week ACT suggested once again that New Zealand should leave the Paris Agreement. 

Whether or not you believe New Zealand’s emissions reductions make a difference on the world’s stage (I would argue they do – because of our leadership role and the fact that a third of global emissions come from small countries like ours), the reality is our exporters must compete in an international economy that is moving toward lower-carbon products and services.

Our farmers, manufacturers, and tech businesses don’t compete solely on price anymore. They compete on market access, standards, and credibility.

International customers increasingly expect evidence that products are produced sustainably.

That trend is unlikely to reverse and ignoring that transition doesn’t eliminate the cost. It simply pushes it onto future governments, future businesses, and future New Zealanders.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/when-the-bill-comes-due/

Source: New Zealand Government

Two refurbished tanks at Northland’s Marsden Point which will store New Zealand’s strategic diesel supply are officially in use, Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones say.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and senior Government Ministers joined Channel Infrastructure chief executive Rob Buchanan and other guests at an event today to officially mark the completion and recommissioning of the tanks.

The Government acted quickly to increase New Zealand’s fuel resilience when the Middle East conflict ramped up, securing additional diesel and a place to store it.

“Diesel is essential to keeping New Zealand moving. It powers freight, agriculture, and construction services, as well as many of the other services businesses and households rely on every day,” Nicola Willis says. 

“Strengthening fuel security was, and remains, a top priority for the Government.”

“While tensions in the Middle East have eased somewhat, global supply chains remain vulnerable and it is important New Zealand is better prepared for future disruption.” 

Today’s event marks little over three months since senior Ministers signed off on up to $21.6 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to Channel Infrastructure to refurbish enough capacity at its Marsden Point site to store an additional 93 million litres of diesel.

“Channel Infrastructure assured the Government it could have the tanks ready in two months. New Zealanders were counting on this to store the country’s diesel buffer,” Shane Jones says.

“Thankfully, the tanks were completed in early June and ready to receive the first of two shipments for our strategic diesel supply.”

After a competitive procurement process, Z Energy was selected to supply and manage the 90 million litre diesel reserve. 

“The Government and Z Energy worked at pace to put in place a practical, time-bound arrangement that delivers value for taxpayers, as well as flexibility around how and when the fuel is used,” Nicola Willis says.

Under the agreement, Z Energy owns and manages the diesel reserve but the Crown will control its release to the market if needed. The reserve does not count towards the company’s minimum stockholding obligation.

The first of two shipments of the diesel reserve recently arrived at the facility. The second is expected later this month.

As global fuel supply conditions continue to stabilise, fuel stock reporting will return to its standard weekly schedule. Updated fuel stock information will be published on the MBIE website every Wednesday at 1pm.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/new-zealands-strategic-diesel-reserve-ready-to-go/

Source: New Zealand Government

New data on New Zealand’s tertiary education system shows growth in qualification completions across the sector, says Penny Simmonds, Minister for Tertiary Education 

The latest Ministry of Education data, published on Education Counts, indicates the number of students completing a provider-based tertiary qualification increased by 8% in 2025, compared with 2024. Overall, domestic student completions rose by 5.9% (to 123,200), while international student completions increased by 22% (to 21,230).

“These results show more students are finishing their study to gain the skills and qualifications they need to succeed in work and life, while helping build the skilled workforce New Zealand needs. It also shows that international students value our tertiary education,” says Minister Simmonds.

Student retention rates show 72% of domestic students who started a bachelor’s degree completed a qualification or progressed to a higher-level qualification within eight years.

Women and full-time students, in university study, continued to achieve higher completion rates than part-time students. Māori and Pacific students recorded improved bachelor’s degree completion rates, while Asian students continued to achieve the highest completion rates at bachelor’s degree level.

“Not only are more students completing qualifications, but they are also progressing to higher levels of learning. It is particularly encouraging to see improved performance across both vocational and degree-level study.”

Private training establishments recorded the largest increase in domestic completions of any subsector, up 12%. Overall, domestic completions increased by 14% for Level 1 certificates and by 13% for both Level 4 certificates and graduate certificates and diplomas. Completions among learners aged under 20 increased by 10%.

“These results demonstrate that more New Zealanders are engaged in higher learning and the tertiary education system is supporting them to succeed, helping deliver the skills New Zealand needs for economic growth and prosperity,” says the Minister.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/qualification-completions-increase-across-the-tertiary-sector/

Source: Opportunity Party

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By Qiulae Wong

To support communities well, leaders need to listen well first. 

The Disability Support Services (DSS) Bill is frustrating the resource-stretched community it is supposed to support. The broad opposition to the Bill reflects that this community has not been listened to. 

Good government starts with good consultation. Only then can it design simple legislative frameworks that deliver the practical support individuals and communities need. It’s not rocket science.

This bill’s MP-in-charge is the Minister for Disability Issues, Louise Upston. She says its purpose is to provide ‘clarity and stability to the system’. That sounds positive, but an analysis of the Bill by Carers New Zealand – the peak body for family carers of disabled Kiwis – says the realities of the Bill will mean the opposite. They say ‘the Bill as drafted contains significant problems that will harm disabled people, their whānau, and the family carers who support them.’ Carers New Zealand’s top five concerns with the Bill are: 

·       The Bill was introduced quickly and without proper consultation

·       Clause 8 creates “care without limits”

·       Family carers deserve fair employment rights now, not later

·       Too much is left to Ministerial discretion

·       The Bill does not uphold the Treaty of Waitangi

We agree and Opportunity’s submission on the Bill says as much. We have done our best to make a submission that reflects the voices representing those directly impacted by this Bill. 

Voices like the national director for Parents of Vision Impaired New Zealand, Dr Rebekah Graham, who described the Bill as incredibly unfair on adults with disabilities. 

Or disability advocate Jane Carrigan, who concluded that all ‘this piece of legislation is doing is limiting remedies for those people with the highest needs.’ She’s talking here about the Government passing legislation to limit or remove the ability for Kiwis to file legal claims against the Crown when it fails to fulfil its responsibilities. 

The submission also reflects the voice of Victoria Coleman, a fulltime carer for her own severely disabled son, who is so worried about the impact of the Bill she has started a petition against it and garnered more than 10,000-signatures.

It is one thing to criticize, it is another to offer alternatives and opportunities. So here’s ours.  

My very first job out of University was supporting accessibility advocate Minnie Baragwanath in a campaign to change attitudes and behaviours towards people with disabilities in New Zealand. Minnie’s point was simple. Let’s reframe how we see disabled people – not as a cost on society, but as sources of opportunity for greater innovation. She would often point to how Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone to empower his wife and mother (who were both deaf) – enabling greater participation in society and widespread economic benefit.   

1 in 6 New Zealanders currently live with a disability. If you include ageing-related access issues, 1 in 4 of us will live with an access need in our lifetime. If we design society to work for disabled people, we design it to work better for all of us. Like Minnie, Opportunity party sees disability-related social, health and economic costs as a mountain of unfulfilled opportunity.

That’s why we commit to actively listening to disability and accessibility advocates. Regarding the DSS Bill, you’ll see that sections from our submission closely match those of Carers New Zealand, and many other submitters. 

Crafting simple legislative frameworks requires care in its design and passage. In my view, and in the view of thousands of others, the responsibility for that care has been shirked, and I am proud to stand with those calling it out.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/whos-listening-to-our-disability-advocates/

Source: New Zealand Government

Full construction will begin next week on the Pepe Stream Bridge replacement on State Highway 25 (SH25) in the Coromandel, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.

Enabling works for the new bridge started in May 2026, including building a temporary footbridge and relocating services. From next week, the old footbridge will be demolished, making way for construction of the first lane of the new bridge, including a shared path.

Early next year, traffic will be switched onto that new lane, allowing the 83-year-old bridge to be demolished and the second lane of the new bridge to be built.

“The queues at the single-lane bridge over summer have become an unfortunate by-product of the region’s popularity, and we know how important it is for the local tourism industry for Coromandel to be accessible,” Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.

“Thank you to Hon Scott Simpson, Coromandel MP, for attending an event this morning on my behalf to mark the start of full construction of the new Pepe Stream Bridge on State Highway 25 (SH25) in Tairua. Minister Scott Simpson has advocated strongly for this bridge replacement.

“We recognise SH25 around the Coromandel is a lifeline for communities, and I’m delighted to also see the single-lane Ramarama Stream Bridge north of Whiritoa is next up for replacement, with work to start there later this year. There is also work underway to replace a bridge on SH27, just south of Patetonga.

“We’ve built on this support for roading in the region through investment in this year’s Budget, with $20 million allocated for Coromandel resilience work and up to $65 million for the replacement of Kirikiri Stream Bridge and nearby SH26/25A intersection.

“It’s all about improving the resilience of the state highway network and keeping it safe and reliable for our local communities, freight, businesses and emergency services. I look forward to the bridge being completed next year.”

Notes to editor:  

Bridges/culverts set to be replaced in the 2024-27 NLTP period: 

• SH3 Mangapepeke No. 1 Culvert, Taranaki (new addition for 2024-27 period) 
• SH3 Mangapepeke No. 2 Culvert, Taranaki 
• SH43 Kururau Stream Water Drive, Whanganui 
• SH82 Elephant Hill Bridge, South Canterbury 
• SH82 Waihao North Bridge, South Canterbury 
• SH6 Coal Creek Overbridge, West Coast 
• SH25 Ramarama Stream Bridge, Waikato 
• SH27 Ohinekaua Bridge, Waikato  
• SH36 Hauraki Stream Culvert, Bay of Plenty  

Bridge maintenance renewal works: 

• SH25 Boundary Creek Bridge, Coromandel (new addition for 2024-27 period) 
• SH35 Mangahauini No. 1 Bridge, Gisborne (new addition for 2024-27 period) 
• SH38 Frasertown Bridge, Hawke’s Bay (new addition for 2024-27 period) 
• SH50 Ngaruroro River Bridge, Hawke’s Bay (new addition for 2024-27 period) 

Other announcements recently made:

• SH2 Pekatahi Bridge, Bay of Plenty. Design and pre-implementation work for a two-lane replacement is underway. Construction is expected to be within the 2027-30 NLTP once funding is approved and a contractor is appointed.

This programme excludes bridges being replaced due to weather event damage.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/pepe-stream-bridge-works-are-underway/

Source: New Zealand Government

A new chapter has begun on the West Coast with the opening of Greymouth’s new Library and commercial hub, Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson says.

“This is more than just a library. It is a vibrant, multi-use space that will bring people together, foster curiosity and learning, support local businesses, and strengthen Greymouth’s appeal as a destination to live, learn, and play,” Mr Patterson says.

Mr Patterson was in Greymouth to open the two-level commercial hub and library, which was supported by a $2 million grant from the Government’s Regional Strategic Partnership Fund with co-funding from Grey District Council and Development West Coast.

“This investment builds on earlier government support for the region’s CBD redevelopment plan, the Greymouth Master Plan and delivers on that vision by creating a welcoming hub for locals and visitors,” Mr Patterson says. 

The new Greymouth Library is located on the top floor of the Richmond Quay development, He Kupenga Mātauranga, a name gifted by West Coast mana whenua Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Waewae. The name applies to the whole building and reflects the connections from the mountains to the sea and beyond.

He Kupenga Mātauranga also features a visitor facility, retail space, a café, and an indoor children’s playground.

“It’s great to see this strong local partnership come to life, helping reinvigorate the town centre and drive more activity in the CBD while delivering lasting economic and community benefits for the West Coast,” Mr Patterson says.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/read-all-about-it-greymouth-library-opens/

Source: New Zealand Government

Cancer patients in the Southern region are now being treated by Dunedin Hospital’s new state-of-the-art radiation therapy machine, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“The new $4.3 million linear accelerator (LINAC) is now fully operational and treating patients,” Mr Brown says.

“This latest generation LINAC replaces a machine that had reached the end of its working life, and represents a significant investment in cancer treatment services for the Southern region.

“The new machine delivers highly precise radiation treatment, capable of targeting tumours to within one millimetre. By delivering radiation from multiple angles, it allows clinicians to provide higher doses directly to tumour sites while minimising exposure to surrounding healthy tissue and reducing the risk of side effects for patients.

“It also enables the treatment of multiple tumours simultaneously in some cases, reducing treatment times and supporting treatment approaches that were not possible with older equipment.

“The new LINAC also supports ongoing clinical innovation and workforce development, providing opportunities for staff to train and work with the latest radiation therapy technology.

“Since arriving on site in May, the machine has undergone six weeks of rigorous testing and commissioning to ensure it met stringent safety and performance standards before treating its first patient.”

The Radiation Oncology team at Dunedin Hospital maintained services throughout the installation period.

“While one of the department’s three LINACs was being replaced, the team worked extended hours to maintain timely access to treatment for their patients. Their commitment ensured continuity of care during a significant equipment upgrade.”

Mr Brown says the Government is focused on improving cancer outcomes for New Zealanders, no matter where they live.

“We are focused on fixing the basics and building the future. For Southern patients needing radiation therapy, this means investing in world-class radiation treatment closer to home.”

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/07/new-cancer-treatment-machine-now-treating-patients-in-dunedin/