RuinZero

Right call to pause on u-16 social media ban - now halt the machinery built to enforce it The Free Speech Union welcomes Education Minister Erica Stanford's confirmation today that Catherine Wedd's bill banning under-16s from social media has been placed on hold. "Credit where it's due - the government has resisted the temptation to bulldoze this through, and that's the right call," says Jillaine Heather, CEO of the Free Speech Union. "Pausing to think again, rather than legislating in haste, is what a serious government does when a policy hasn't survived contact with the evidence." The Free Speech Union has consistently argued that a ban is not the answer to genuine concerns about online harm. The international evidence base for age-based bans is thin, the policy isolates the at-risk young people it claims to protect, and - most importantly - it cannot be implemented without effectively age-verifying every adult New Zealander. That isn't a child safety measure. It is a digital ID system by another name. "We support parents, schools, and communities having robust conversations about how young people use social media," Heather says. "We do not support the state deciding, on behalf of every family, that the answer is a ban backed by mass identity verification of adults. That trade-off has never been honestly put to New Zealanders." But while the bill is paused, the bureaucratic apparatus built in anticipation of it appears not to be. Just last month, the Department of Internal Affairs advertised - and re-advertised - a Programme Implementation Director role tied to an under-16 social media ban, with internal documentation referencing a July 2027 go-live date. That role was being recruited before Parliament had passed a single line of enabling legislation. The Free Speech Union has been raising questions about this through Official Information Act requests. "It is one thing for Parliament to pause. It is another thing entirely for the machinery built to implement a policy Parliament has not passed to keep running in the background," Heather says. "Officials should not be building infrastructure for legislation that does not exist - and the public is entitled to know whether they still are." The Free Speech Union is calling on Minister Stanford to publicly clarify three things: The current status of the DIA's Programme Implementation Director role and any related procurement; The full scope of the "wider programme of work" she refers to, including whether universal age verification remains under consideration; Whether the July 2027 implementation date referenced in DIA recruitment materials is still being pursued. "The right policy response to online harm is not a ban. It is honest conversation with parents, better tools for families, and a state that knows the limits of its own competence. Today's pause is a chance to get back to that conversation. The question is whether the officials got the memo."

Seen in Auckland

The New Zealand government has launched a coordinated, nationwide crackdown on our organisation. Armed police have raided the homes of our activists and volunteers, some of whom were arrested and detained while being served trespass orders on behalf of the New Zealand Indian Central Association. During this operation, authorities seized private property and equipment, including electronic devices, phones and laptops. This campaign of state directed repression is a desperate attempt to undermine growing public opposition to mass migration. We are currently preparing a fundraiser. Our immediate priority is the replacement of seized equipment and potential legal costs. We will call upon our supporters to assist in this effort. 


Remigration Now.

Winston Peters: We're going to have some dramatic changes in our national interest.

🚨 HOLY SMOKES. ICE has just announced a jaw-dropping fraud bust, saying 10,000 FOREIGN students are involved in the federal government's Optional Practical Training There are EMPTY BUILDINGS where HUNDREDS of students should be "working" as part of their ability to be in America — run by foreign-linked groups that send money out of the country! Locked doors, hundreds of students sharing the SAME ADDRESS, and "employers" sharing the same unleased addresses There is a widespread "phantom employee" fraud going on. This is insane. Many of the so-called "employers" have major red flags, such as facing lawsuits, no employment records, offshore payroll claims, and suspicious INTERNATIONAL MONEY flows "HSI agents have visited problematic OPT employer work sites in Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Florida." "Foreign students themselves are entering false addresses and employer names into the student and exchange visitor information system." "But we are uncovering evidence of organized fraud that spans national and international borders. This is not accidental. It is deliberate, coordinated, and criminal." "To give you an example, one employer we visited claimed to employ only three foreign students through OPT, while our records show over 500 foreign students claiming to work there." "The company's representatives were unable to answer basic questions about the business and deferred HR managers in India." "OPT employers are required to directly train foreign students, but we've seen multiple examples of alleged employers claiming that all management is overseas in India." "We've also discovered multiple state networks which are large networks of alleged employers claiming to train thousands of foreign students in OPT, then farming them out to unreported third party employers, making oversight nearly impossible and raising serious national security issues."

It just… feels like a piss-take. And… whoever designed the hazmat outfits have no style. Green boots. Orange plastic suit. Blue gloves. And… Don’t let anyone spray you like you’re a cockroach. Esp AFTER you put your safety suit on. 🤡