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Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 4:20 pm, April 17th, 2025
shrug I can think of worse fates than being on some spoilt billionaire's shit list.Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 7:39 am, April 17th, 2025
Turns out making toys using Chinese slave labour doesn’t make you an infinitely wise philosopher-king. Who’d have thunk it?Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 7:11 am, April 16th, 2025
I don't know if David Seymour genuinely loves the baubles of office, or if he simply understands that in today’s attention economy, constant visibility is his best shot at staying politically relevant. It’d be laughable if it weren’t so effective at ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 10:16 am, April 15th, 2025
Which is cool and all—but may end up being terrible political strategy. Because all it really does is make National’s messaging super simple. “You don’t want to bring back the filthy commies in Labour and their even crazier mates in the Greens. But you ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 10:11 am, April 15th, 2025
He reminds me a lot of Cohen the Barbarian from the Discworld novels. Some say he's outdated, but he’d probably just growl that he’s got decades of experience in not dying politically. He’s grumpy, cunning, and somehow always still there. You could almost ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 9:33 am, April 15th, 2025
If Peters would rather be in appeasement mode to the nation that is a threat to that, should he be our FM? If I had my druthers, he wouldn’t even be in Parliament. But you’ve got to respect the man’s panache. And his unerring nose for political ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 8:17 am, April 15th, 2025
Totally agree this is a sharp read. Always enjoy the sharpness of Harman's analysis. Peters has always had a knack for playing the long game, and the timing of this subtle distancing from Luxon feels classic Winnie. The "call me next time" jab is a ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 7:51 pm, April 13th, 2025
I expect that we will see an unusual coalition forming in the United States comprising of big business, the wealthy, unions, environmentalists human rights organisations, and people dedicated to dealing with poverty and showing tolerance to everyone no ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 7:06 am, April 12th, 2025
It’s just as much a mistake to overestimate Trump now as it was to underestimate him back in 2016. The man is a political arsonist, not a strategist. Trying to divine a coherent masterplan in the chaotic, testosterone-fuelled posturing of a septuagenarian ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 12:33 pm, April 10th, 2025
I’m not sure who you think you’re arguing with, because it sure as hell isn’t me. All I’ve said is that reflexive opposition to any increase in defence spending is hollow, unrealistic, and unhelpful. What I’m calling for is a serious, grown-up reassessment ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 11:26 am, April 10th, 2025
Oof. A reference to Orwell. How devastating. I guess you win. shrug I don’t think anyone — even Judith Collins (talofa!) — is suggesting we jump into the Houthi or Israel-Palestinian conflicts, except perhaps under a UN peacekeeping mandate. I’m genuinely ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 10:24 am, April 10th, 2025
While you're busy lobbing cheap jabs, some of us are actually trying to have a serious conversation about geopolitics. One that acknowledges complexity, responsibility, and the real-world consequences of inaction. If you’re not ready for that, maybe take a ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 10:20 am, April 10th, 2025
If Kant was right and trade truly guaranteed peace, then neither of the world wars would have happened. Germany was no less integrated into European and global markets in 1914 or 1939 than China is now. Economic interdependence didn’t stop catastrophe then ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 10:15 am, April 10th, 2025
So, the answer is to give up entirely? Refuse to play any part, take no responsibility, and just sit back while the world burns: all so we can feel principled, safe, and smug? That’s not virtue. That’s cowardice masquerading as morality. It makes us worse ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 8:45 pm, April 8th, 2025
Just LOL at some of the tankies on here who are still trying to make a 25 year old burn somehow relevant and think its cool to warn us about the military-industrial complex like its a new thing. Nobody here is arguing we should start a war, amigo. Just ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 8:45 pm, April 8th, 2025
Just LOL at some of the tankies on here who are still trying to make a 25 year old burn somehow relevant and think its cool to warn us about the military-industrial complex like its a new thing. Nobody here is arguing we should start a war, amigo. Just ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 12:30 pm, April 8th, 2025
Is NZ's Sea Lanes Of Communications! Believe or not NZ is Maritime dependent nation as 95% of NZ Trade departs or arrives by boat. If NZ can't Protect, Defend, Deny it's Sea Lanes Of Communications! Then the NZ's Economic Security is at risk. I see ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 12:29 pm, April 8th, 2025
If I were setting our strategic priorities, I’d start with the RNZAF and RNZN. Air and maritime capabilities are critical for a country like New Zealand — not just for defence, but for sovereignty, surveillance, humanitarian response, and regional presence ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 12:24 pm, April 8th, 2025
Totally agree! UAVs aren’t a silver bullet. Without the right C3 infrastructure like satellite bandwidth, secure comms, and a platform like a P-8 or Tier 2 MPA, they’re just expensive targets. Investing in that backbone is almost as important as the ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 11:26 am, April 8th, 2025
I broadly agree that we need to be cautious about treating drones as some kind of silver bullet. They’re not a replacement for blue-water capability, and they certainly don’t negate the need for platforms like frigates or maritime patrol aircraft. But I do ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 9:24 am, April 8th, 2025
I totally understand the frustration. There are so many urgent needs in Aotearoa right now, and it’s maddening to see billions go to defence and tax cuts for landlords when people are struggling to access basic healthcare, housing, or food. But I think we ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 9:14 am, April 8th, 2025
I agree with some of this, especially the bit about MAGA tapping into patriotic, working-class sentiment. That part is real and potent. But is MAGA uniquely American? Culturally, sure. But politically? Not at all. The same underlying dynamics - economic ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 8:40 am, April 7th, 2025
Totally agree — Trump’s tariffs are economically reckless and politically dangerous. But the real question isn’t why his policies fail. It’s why they still work politically — and what we can learn from that here in Aotearoa. My hypothesis? Even though all ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 8:13 am, April 7th, 2025
Yeah, that’s definitely a stumbling block. And exactly why we need to be having the conversation we’re not having about trade and economic policy. If we want credibility and resilience, we need a national consensus that can outlast election cycles. Because ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 8:09 am, April 7th, 2025
That would leave out Ukraine, Russia, Byelorussia, non Turkic former USSR states (Armenia, Georgia), India/south Asia and non Palestine Israel (both Jewish and North American Project 2025 Zionist branches). The problem with multilateralism is that it’s ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 8:05 am, April 7th, 2025
Shrug We can quibble over the numbers if you'd like — but the core point stands: a sizeable (and apparently debatable) chunk of our national wealth is tied to trade, especially in commodities. We're also heavily reliant on a small number of key export ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 8:01 am, April 7th, 2025
The argument I’m making is pretty simple: tariffs are designed to favour domestic producers by making foreign goods more expensive. That’s their whole point — to distort competition in favour of your own industries. GST (like VAT) applies to everything: ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 9:20 pm, April 6th, 2025
It comes down to intent, scope, and neutrality. Tariffs are trade tools — their purpose is to influence trade flows, raise prices on imports, and protect domestic industries. GST, by contrast, is a broad-based tax on consumption, applied uniformly to ...Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 9:45 am, April 6th, 2025
You're right: I said exports when I should have said trade.Written By: Res Publica - Date published: 5:26 pm, April 5th, 2025
We could become rational by switching from neoliberalism to resilience and sustainability, which means subordinating trade within a new paradigm. Let's do this! Hilariously, neoliberalism still markets itself as the sole rational account of human economic ...
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