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Reviewing the Cook Strait Ferry fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, January 16th, 2025 - 25 comments

A review of the history of the Ferries issue suggests that this could be coalition ending and career ending.

Labour’s Long-Sightedness and the Opposition’s Opprobrious Omniabsence

Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, January 11th, 2025 - 52 comments

New Zealand is sleepwalking to an unmitigated constitutional, societal, and environmental disaster under the smokescreen of culture wars.

Costello hands out free vapes

Written By: - Date published: 5:43 pm, January 5th, 2025 - 11 comments

The Government has announced that it will be supplying vaping starter kits to stop smoking services. It is not known who will be the suppliers of these kits or on what terms.

2024 in review

Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, December 31st, 2024 - 25 comments

It is that time of year when during the brief hiatus of civilisation known as the holidays we get the time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months.

Wage theft – now that is a real crime

Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, December 30th, 2024 - 17 comments

In Australia, the Fair Work Act is enhanced to provide for jail time and large fines for individuals and companies who deliberately indulged in wage theft. It is a Federal act with investigative powers. Our members ‘Theft by Employers’ bill looks pathetic by comparison. But worth passing in its 3rd reading. It would be a “real tough on crime” act – not weak like Mark Mitchell’s tee-shirt snatch.

The absurdity of National’s Gang Patch ban

Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, December 29th, 2024 - 61 comments

It did not take long for the first example of the absurdity of the Government’s gang patch ban to appear.

Government sabotages its Emissions Reduction Plan

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, December 23rd, 2024 - 7 comments

Under its latest Emissions Reduction Plan the Government is placing major reliance on processing of orgnic waste and landfill gas capture. But it has quietly recently cut funding for the Waste Minimisation Fund by $177 million over 4 years.

Much ado about nothing

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, December 21st, 2024 - 18 comments

There has been recent controversy because a District Court Judge and a renowned surgeon in a private setting chose to criticise NZ First policies.

This govt. legislation will change our country like never before – learn about it like your country depends on it – because it does

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, December 21st, 2024 - 12 comments

Just after Christmas, submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill will close. But a far more sinister Bill underlles it all… and Seymour is hoping you might not notice

Is Luxon on a roll?

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 pm, December 18th, 2024 - 24 comments

Or about to be rolled? Word has it that Chris Bishop is waiting in the wings, as Luxon’s favourability rating drops below Hipkins.

Who would have thought that austerity would stuff up the economy

Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, December 18th, 2024 - 47 comments

The HYEFU has been released and the results are pretty ugly suggesting that National’s austerity measures are having a negative effect on the economy.

When publicity stunts go bad

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 17th, 2024 - 16 comments

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently posted a picture of him helping with a gift box initiative for the poor. But at the same time he is overseeing the cessation of funding for food banks.

The real purpose of the Ministry for Regulation

Written By: - Date published: 5:54 pm, December 14th, 2024 - 31 comments

ACT is finishing what Roger Douglas started 40 years ago.

Clusterfreak

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, December 12th, 2024 - 46 comments

Yesterday’s replacement ferry announcement by Nicola Willis suggests that very little progress has been made in securing replacement Cook Island ferries.

The unusual feature of Taxpayers Union’s latest Curia poll

Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, December 11th, 2024 - 14 comments

Unlike two other recent polls the latest Taxpayer’s Union poll reports a surge to Act happening during the time the Treaty Principles Bill was introduced.

Atlas Network in New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, December 11th, 2024 - 11 comments

The similarities between the Atlas Network modus operandi and our government’s policies appear strident and unsettling.

Unacceptable

Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, December 7th, 2024 - 29 comments

It appears that the Government’s intent to politicise youth offending by making an elite few dress up in army uniforms and march around in an effort to solve a lifetime of neglect is not working out so well.

Tax and the Splintering World

Written By: - Date published: 3:38 pm, December 5th, 2024 - 30 comments

The resurgence of the tax debate reflects impacts of neo-liberal economic policy and developments in the global economy over the last half century. As Labour considers further its approach to tax policy, this wider context should be considered

Luxon Takes A Beating

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, December 4th, 2024 - 20 comments

Five recent polls show that Kiwis are tired of the Coalition government, but will the trendline hold?

Hipkins’ Conference speech

Written By: - Date published: 4:35 pm, December 1st, 2024 - 31 comments

Text of Chris Hipkins’ speech to the 2024 Labour Party Conference.

National’s dodgy health announcements

Written By: - Date published: 4:09 pm, November 27th, 2024 - 18 comments

National yesterday made great fanfare about an extra $30 million being spent on doctors and nurses. But news today of 1,500 health job cuts in the pipeline clearly shows how the extra funds are to be sourced.

If Seymour succeeds what happens to Ngāpuhi’s Treaty claim?

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, November 27th, 2024 - 3 comments

If David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill is passed it may complicate Ngapuhi’s outstanding claim.

END GAME

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 pm, November 24th, 2024 - 30 comments

What is the game plan for the Coalition government? What characteristics can we observe and what is the “end game?”

A guide to making a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill

Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, November 23rd, 2024 - 10 comments

Want to make a submission opposing David Seymour’s dog whistle Treaty Principles Bill? Here’s how.

The Left Trumped?

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, November 21st, 2024 - 36 comments

We woke up last week to the post-mortem on the US election. How and why Trump won, and their implications for political alignments everywhere, are front and centre. A fundamental issue, explicitly identified when Trump won in 2016, is the presence of large sections of the working class vote into the Trump camp. So why has that happened – again?

On the whining and treason of David Seymour

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, November 20th, 2024 - 51 comments

In recent days, David Seymour has been whining that no-one is seriously debating his stupid little bill to supposedly try to redefine what the Treaty means. But it is the constitutional arrangements of this country that this bill attacks. The bill is essentially treasonous. It also isn’t worth debating. Prepare against a dictatorship of the executive.

The great gaslighter

Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, November 19th, 2024 - 44 comments

In the gaslight to end gaslights David Seymour is suggesting that anyone opposed to his Treaty Principles Bill is also opposed to fundamental human rights.

Blowout in costs of Roads of National Significance

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, November 17th, 2024 - 33 comments

There has been a major blowout in the cost of the Roads of National Significance with the cost being potentially $10 billion more than National claimed during last year’s campaign.

Justified outrage

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 15th, 2024 - 46 comments

There were some dramatic scenes in Parliament yesterday with Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke leading a fiery haka during the count of Act’s Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill.

This Government’s day of shame

Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, November 14th, 2024 - 63 comments

David Seymour thinks that opponents to his bill cannot explain what it is they are opposed to but ignores the clear advice of 40 Kings Counsel who have written to the Government telling it that the bill is itself a breach of the treaty.

Government bars Journalist for asking tough questions

Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, November 11th, 2024 - 28 comments

The Government has prevented journalist Aaron Smale from attending the Crown apology to victims of abuse in state care because his questions are too tough.