Shane Jones promised New Zealand a wild oil and gas revival - rigs on the horizon, fast-tracked projects, and a government head-over-heels for fossil fuels.

But as he makes grand speeches and waves legislative wish lists, the industry has already moved on, leaving dust-covered proposals and polite “no thanks” replies.

This satire reveals the yawning gap between political romance and geological, economic reality. Even government advisors quietly admit new offshore finds are “unlikely to be economic.”

As wind and solar ramp up, Jones is left pitching to an empty ocean, his hard-hat in hand, the dream long gone. The only thing getting “re-erected” is his press schedule.

A darkly satirical look at the Free Speech Union’s AGM, where the loudest people in the room claim to be silenced while calling for others to be shut down.

Picture this - you could fund New Zealand’s flagship Marsden Fund - the one that’s meant to discover the next big thing - 320 times over… or you could build one really expensive road in Northland. Guess which one the Government picked? In a week when the Nobel Prize in Economics literally proved that investing in science and technology drives growth, we decided to prove the opposite. The fallout is already here: top researchers are leaving, labs are closing, and the silence from universities is deafening. Want to know how we got here and the very different future we could still choose? Keep reading…

There are many ways for a government to trample human rights. You can crush unions, surveil citizens or, if you are truly committed to tyranny, you can take away a person’s Vegemite.

In a concrete box somewhere in Australia, one lone prisoner has drawn a line in the toast crumbs. Andre is not just an inmate. In his mind, he is the last defender of civilisation - a man standing between the state and its war on the sacred morning smear.

This satirical piece follows Andre’s “constitutional crusade” and the absurd, almost religious story of how a simple yeast spread became a cultural sacrament – and what it says when governments decide to control even that.

What do you call a Government that looks at the Supreme Court backing Uber drivers and seems to decide the real problem is the law, not the exploitation? In this piece I take a darkly humorous walk through the gap between what our leaders say about “fairness” and “flexibility” and what they actually do when a court dares to recognise gig workers as employees. From the worship of “business certainty” to the creative re-branding of control as “choice”, it asks a simple question: when the Minister moves faster to protect Uber’s business model than workers’ basic rights, whose future is really being looked after?

When news broke that the Michelin Guide was coming to New Zealand, most people looked to vineyard restaurants and polished city bistros. Budget Tyres looked at its logo and said “surely it is our time.” What followed is one of the most gloriously unhinged acts of Kiwi ingenuity you will ever encounter. Using nothing but workshop tools, staff lunches and a worrying amount of imagination, the team created a seven-course degustation among the tyre racks – and somehow, it works. Here is what happens when fine dining meets wheel alignment.

Kaipara politics has become a stage show when it should be stewardship. This satire calls time on the shouting, bullying and performative outrage that drown out pipes, budgets and people. It lampoons emergency theatrics and culture-war reruns while saluting residents who still vote and watch. The remedy is refreshingly dull: fewer stunts, more decisions; less slogan, more sentence; basic services done well. If you’re over the noise and want grown-up local democracy that includes everyone, read on, chuckle grimly, then share.

This isn’t just satire. It’s a smoke signal. And the fire is public sector collapse.

If the good Lord wanted us to be healthy, educated, housed and well fed, He would have - what? Built a healthcare system? Funded public education? Actually housed people?

Apparently not. Today’s New Zealand sees 100,000 essential workers walking off the job while bureaucrats bicker beside a broken service hatch and the government splurges on defence contracts.

This isn’t just satire. It’s a smoke signal. And the fire is public sector collapse.

When Palmer and Finlayson agree, you know it’s serious. A darkly satirical look at the coalition’s war on the Waitangi Tribunal and the democracy it was meant to protect.

We love the story of a welcoming Aotearoa - until migrants need more than a smile. This essay exposes how quiet exclusion, not overt hostility, undermines wellbeing and wastes potential. It’s a call to move beyond token diversity towards everyday practices of belonging - learning names, sharing spaces and choosing empathy over comfort.

For years, Mike Hosking styled himself as New Zealand’s conscience — a pulpit of endless “reckons” that too many mistook for journalism. But his cathedral of hot takes is shedding worshippers, with Mai FM overtaking him in Auckland’s breakfast ratings. Meanwhile, RNZ National is proving that facts still matter, growing its national audience in defiance of opinion-driven radio. Could this be the moment the cult of reckons finally collapses?

When Simeon Brown mistook nurses’ silent protest for a “warm welcome,” it became a perfect symbol of political delusion. With hospitals short 587 nurses per shift and patients left in corridors, the government’s denial is not just out of touch - it’s dangerous.

New Zealand’s government claims it can’t afford housing, healthcare, or food security - yet billions flow freely into prisons and policing. This article exposes the staggering contradiction of starving social services while building cages, and why it’s a moral and fiscal disaster.

New Zealand’s government claims it can’t afford housing, healthcare, or food security - yet billions flow freely into prisons and policing. This article exposes the staggering contradiction of starving social services while building cages, and why it’s a moral and fiscal disaster.

The repeal of wellbeing provisions from New Zealand’s Public Finance Act marks a chilling shift - people no longer count. Nicola Willis has buried social outcomes beneath fiscal spreadsheets, dismissing poverty, mental health and housing as “distractions.” This article unpacks why ignoring wellbeing is not just negligent - it’s misanthropic.

New Zealand’s local body elections have become a theatre of apathy, where turnout collapses and candidates from the “Universally Inoffensive Party” promise little while delivering less. Behind the beige slogans, communities face neglected infrastructure, rising rates, and councils repurposed as property speculators’ offices. This article asks the only question that matters: who actually gives a damn about the street we live on?

New Zealand is facing the fastest collapse of small business confidence in modern history. In the first half of 2025 alone, 1,270 businesses have gone under - 12% more than last year’s record. Behind the numbers are unpaid suppliers, lost jobs, and shattered communities. This is not the economic rescue package voters were promised - it’s a demolition job carried out in plain sight.

Christopher Luxon’s conference speech was meant to show empathy - but instead, it exposed a deeper disconnect. In this biting satirical analysis, we explore why leadership without lived experience feels like a spreadsheet trying to cry. A must-read for those questioning whether “optimism” is enough in today’s Aotearoa.

Imagine a New Zealand where governance begins with listening, not branding. This counterfactual explores a reimagined Aotearoa where solo mums co-design welfare, nurses lead health reform, rangatahi redefine civics, and wealth is finally taxed fairly. Trust isn’t taught - it’s shared.

When public services fail, the powerful don’t fix them - they educate the poor on why they’re wrong to be upset. This satire skewers the idea that New Zealanders just need better civics knowledge to rebuild trust in a system designed to exclude them. It’s not misunderstanding that causes distrust - it’s lived experience.