Homeschooling Backdown Exposes NZ Politics’ Third Rail
There are more than 11,000 home-educated children and ERO reviewed just 10 families last year. Erica Stanford tried basic oversight, then discovered homeschooling is political kryptonite.

There are more than 11,000 home-educated children and ERO reviewed just 10 families last year. Erica Stanford tried basic oversight, then discovered homeschooling is political kryptonite.

State tenants pay more. Students lose Fees Free. Beneficiaries are squeezed. The rich remain protected. This is not a recovery Budget, it is punishment with a sermon attached.

State tenants pay more. Students lose Fees Free. Beneficiaries are squeezed. Banks get a token levy. Budget 2026 is not recovery, it is abandonment.

Officials said do not intervene. Big Polluters wanted protection from Mike Smith’s court case. The Government went ahead and gave them exactly what they wanted.

National has abolished the Ministry for the Environment and folded nature’s voice into a development mega-ministry. It feels less like reform than an institutional bonfire.

State tenants face higher rents and the threat of being pushed back into the private market, while landlords pocket a $2.9 billion tax break. Vote like your home depends on it.

Jobseeker recipients now reapply every six months. MSD can now use automated systems for welfare decisions. Somehow the poorest are always first in line for State experiments.

The rich will raise walls and buy more air conditioning. Everyone else gets heat, hunger, displacement and a political system protecting the polluters.

Britain is locking up climate and Palestine-solidarity protesters. Now New Zealand is rushing through new Police powers with barely a murmur.

One year after being pushed out for refusing to shut up, The Bradbury Group is still here, still growing, and still spoiling for Election 2026.