Author Archive

Our growing stress is everywhere

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, May 24th, 2025 - 2 comments

We don’t know where this country is going and it’s getting worse. 

We’ve Lost Australia

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 12th, 2025 - 45 comments

New Zealand was once in a sustained Australasian partnership. Now, with New Zealand tracking further and further into policy extremes, Australia – and our children – are leaving New Zealand behind.

The Ukraine-United States Deal

Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, May 4th, 2025 - 13 comments

In a bargain of the damned the United States and Ukraine have signed a peace agreement to share revenues from the future sale of Ukrainian minerals and rare earths.

Labor Wins In Australia

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, May 4th, 2025 - 39 comments

In yesterday’s election there was lot to cheer about. Labor won a landslide election. And Coalition leader Peter Dutton lost his seat.

After ANZAC Day

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 29th, 2025 - 29 comments

ANZAC Day 2025 is just so dark in the face of a hot war in the Ukraine, and the real lack of commanding peacemakers left on this earth. 

Farewell Pope Francis

Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, April 22nd, 2025 - 10 comments

“Let us not be afraid to say it: we want change, real change, structural change. The system has imposed the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature.”

Trump Schadenfreude

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, April 6th, 2025 - 68 comments

All the fools supporting hard right political leadership will now be reminded of what they signed up for.

US imposes 10% tariff on NZ imports

Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, April 3rd, 2025 - 52 comments

While 10% is at the lower end of this unjustified tax, it is very serious for our whole NZ economy.

Reasons for Optimism

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, March 22nd, 2025 - 14 comments

We’re good, but we know we want better leadership.

Failed Conference

Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, March 14th, 2025 - 46 comments

Luxon’s team have delivered zero deals out of the multibillionaire conference on infrastructure. This is a fail.

Great America

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, March 9th, 2025 - 17 comments

The United States of America is in full territorial expansion mode and there is little that anyone can do about it. 

A Commercial Peace Agreement? 

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, February 20th, 2025 - 68 comments

Trump’s opening bid for peace towards Ukraine was that the United States would gain access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

If that’s Luxon’s Plan, What About Labour? 

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, January 26th, 2025 - 56 comments

It’s time to highlight what a Labour plan for the New Zealand economy under a 2026 government would look like. And ask questions. 

New Zealand’s worst leadership speech since 2008

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, January 24th, 2025 - 22 comments

The PM’s ‘State of the Nation’ speech about the New Zealand economy titled “economic growth the key to better days ahead” was a bag of words with no plan.

The Left Went That Way

Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, January 14th, 2025 - 37 comments

In the past two decades, election results in western Europe, Australasia, and North America have been framed as a crisis of the left. But in reality are things that bad?

President Biden’s Accomplishments

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, January 11th, 2025 - 33 comments

It’s common these days to see the rapid 2024 exit of multiple global social democrat leaders as just a post-COVID symptom of democratic impatience. But Biden achieved far more than his age-related decline obscures.

Winston’s Next Job

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, January 10th, 2025 - 18 comments

While he scoops up behind Minister Willis’s Cook Strait ferry disaster, he’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and our primary lead on the rise of President Trump and boy does he have a job ahead of him.

President Trump makes a new Middle East Possible

Written By: - Date published: 6:04 pm, January 5th, 2025 - 23 comments

U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump makes more things possible in the Middle East than the Biden administration.

Electric Shock

Written By: - Date published: 8:43 am, December 2nd, 2024 - 29 comments

New Zealand is one of the slowest countries in the developed world to transition from combustion to electric vehicles. The shocks we are seeing in Europe to car makers and car buyers herald more trouble ahead.

The Fast Death of Our Major Forestry Mills

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 pm, November 20th, 2024 - 14 comments

2024 is the worst-ever year for our forest export industry as a whole, with most of our largest sawmills closing and the loss of hundreds of jobs.

The New Zealand left are in the worst place in a century

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, September 23rd, 2024 - 68 comments

New Zealand has the most right wing government it’s had since Governor George Grey determined to eradicate all Maori power by systematic war and then systematic legislative theft in 1863. But the left shows no sign of unifying.

A new Labour electricity policy

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, September 9th, 2024 - 70 comments

Proposed policy for the Labour Party. New Zealand’s power system should empower the people in their lives and systems, secure electricity use and production for New Zealand in perpetuity, and make the electricity system serve New Zealand not the other way round. How do we achieve this?

Let’s Talk About Tax

Written By: - Date published: 4:08 pm, September 2nd, 2024 - 44 comments

Yes, Labour can restore its woeful tax position.

Power and Speed

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, August 27th, 2024 - 17 comments

We are in a power crisis and the government has had to respond, but will their response make any difference?

Where Does Labour Rebuild? 

Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, August 26th, 2024 - 48 comments

It won’t come from the working class. But we know where it will come from.

Luxon’s Support for AUKUS 2 is Against Our Interests

Written By: - Date published: 9:29 am, August 18th, 2024 - 21 comments

Three NZ prime ministers talking to Zelensky

It is well time the Prime Minister set out how it is in our interests to move against China by buying into AUKUS.

Gender Essentialists Hate the Olympics

Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, August 10th, 2024 - 157 comments

The Olympics are a real persistent problem for gender essentialists.

Israel is in Serious Trouble

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, August 7th, 2024 - 18 comments

Israel’s failure to solve its own problems, its weakening democratic institutions, fraying civil patience, massive wastage of global patience and U.S. aid, and inability to plan for civic success following military conflict, point to a country in very serious trouble with no apparent way out.

The Promises of Lange, Moore, Bolger, and the WTO

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, August 4th, 2024 - 26 comments

In 2024 we ought to ask if the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s has delivered on what was promised. 

How Northland Became New Zealand’s Deepest Shame

Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, June 25th, 2024 - 27 comments

Last week Northland had a power pylon simply fall down on a still day. 100,000 properties lost power. Quickly restored, it underscored how vulnerable the Far North is. 

What the Aratere Grounding Means

Written By: - Date published: 4:24 pm, June 22nd, 2024 - 67 comments

The grounding of the ferry Aratere is potentially a political gift to National.