Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

- from the Breaking Views Team

The Breaking Views team - and the New Zealand Centre for Political Research - would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!

Thank you so much for your on-going interest in our work, for your support and participation during the year. Here's hoping 2025 will be a great year for all!

 Please don't forget that our main website is at www.nzcpr.com and that if you don't receive our free NZCPR Weekly newsletters, you are most welcome to register HERE.

William Keylor: German Soldiers Made First Move in the Christmas Truce

The Christmas Truce is no stranger to popular entertainment – the year 2014 more than any other as its 100th anniversary is marked. The famous moment when British and German soldiers climbed out of the trenches in peace on Christmas Day 1914 has been replicated and ruminated upon in history books, film, and propaganda – and now advertising. In the UK, the supermarket Sainsbury’s 2014 Christmas advert dramatises the event, prompting cries of outrage that it has trivialised it. But what really happened 100 years ago?

Mary Hobbs: Christmas and the great kiwi summer holiday

To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer. — Mahatma Gandhi

The Christmas and summer holiday break in New Zealand is loved by most.

It is an intrinsic part of the Kiwi culture. It’s a time to take it easy, rejuvenate, catch up with family and friends, get outside, enjoy the summer, and tune out the world’s woes. A calm spreads throughout the country. It gives most of us at least some time to enjoy summer.

Tuesday December 24, 2024 

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Ross Meurant: 2025 Resolution - Time for Name Changes

A glance at a map of New Zealand will demonstrate about 80% of “places”, are Māori names.

In the western sector of the parliamentary electorate (Hobson), I once served as MP for 9 years, at a glance, I counted 6 English named places and over 30 Māori, between Hokianga and Kaipara Harbour entrances.   This ratio appears similar across the country.  

Mike Bain: What called you to action in 2024?

Throughout 2024, New Zealanders engaged in numerous protests, each driven by a deep sense of urgency and passion. Kiwis took to the streets, voicing their concerns and demanding change. Yet, as the year progressed, it became evident that these efforts often fell short of achieving their intended goals.

Marches against the Treaty Principles Bill culminated in a massive hīkoi to parliament in November. Despite the fervour and energy invested in these protests, the issues at hand remained unresolved: the Treaty Principles Bill advanced and the societal impact of these protests seemed minimal.

Ele Ludemann: Getting it right from the start

It’s nearly 20 years since National Party members were asked to pitch policies at regional conferences. Those judged best went to the national conference and became policy.

Among those was my pitch to fund maternity services to allow women to stay in maternity hospitals until breast feeding was established should they choose to.

Michael Reddell: Fiscal failure and indifference (with introduction by Don Brash)

Don Brash: This short analysis of the current fiscal position as compared with the fiscal position as projected shortly before the Labour Government left office is sobering.

Chris Hipkins and other Labour spokespeople are talking as if the current Government has cut government spending drastically, creating the “politics of austerity”. But over the next few fiscal years core government spending is projected to be as high as, or slightly higher than, that projected in Labour’s last Budget.

So much for the “politics of austerity”!

Michael Reddell was an economist of gradually increasing seniority at the Reserve Bank throughout my 14 years as Governor, and for more than 10 years beyond that. In my opinion, he is one of the most astute economists in New Zealand.

NZCPR Newsletter: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear NZCPR Reader,

It’s been a busy year for the NZCPR. We have achieved a great deal - but only thanks to your support.

Our mission to inform public opinion, influence decision-makers and help to shape the future direction of New Zealand has never been more important.

So, as we look forward to 2025, our plea to each and every one of our readers, is that if you have found any value whatsoever in our newsletters, our website, our campaigns, or our social media platforms – our Breaking Views blog, our NZCPR Facebook Group, or X – then please support our Christmas fundraiser so we can continue to work hard for you next year.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 22.12.24

Tuesday December 23, 2024 

News:
Treaty law submission fuels desire to submit on future Bills
Sessions to help Taranaki whānau have a say on the Treaty bill moving through Parliament are being fine-tuned to help address future legislation affecting Māori rights and interests.

Centrist: Mission creep at Diversity Works NZ leads to taxpayer-funded DEI activism

Tracing the shift in mandate

The ongoing shift in Diversity Works NZ’s focus from equal opportunity to equal outcome employment is an example of the type of mission creep common in publicly funded entities.

A registered charity, heavily funded by taxpayers, Diversity Works NZ, the trading name for the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust, was established in 1992 under the National government.

Centrist: Why are certain Treaty amendments welcomed while others are instantly dismissed?

Selective support for Treaty amendments hints at bias

In the debate over various proposals to amend the Treaty of Waitangi, there appears to be a selective reception. On one hand, the petition to add a “fourth article” affirming or expanding Māori rights is welcomed by Māori activists, many in the media, and their supporters. On the other hand, proposals advocating equality, such as ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill, are labelled as controversial.

Damien Grant: ACC is the uniquely Kiwi success story we need to ask questions about

“Ministers should not be raising taxes or reducing public spending to compensate for ACC deficits in pursuit of a short-term surplus target” declared the Honourable Nicola Willis. Which made me curious. ACC deficit?


ACC is a uniquely Kiwi success story that would be considered a catastrophic miscalculation in most jurisdictions. Workers killed or injured in the workplace cannot sue those responsible. Instead we pay them a remittance from the exchequer. 80% of your income, up to a fairly low maximum, and a few quid if you lose your arm.

Sir Bob Jones: Judith Collins naivety

The recent fracas at Auckland’s Northern Club, involving Judge Emma Aitken, her medical specialist partner, and in a separate incident, barrister Michael Reed K.C, brought much delight to the media, so much so, Wellington’s Post for example, joyously front-paged it word for word, two days in a row.

That said, I was astonished by Attorney General Judith Collins reaction, specifically, this “very serious” matter, was “not what I expect from members of the judiciary”.

Kevin: I’m Starting to Like Simeon

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says fixing roads will be prioritised over social housing under new reforms designed to get councils “back to basics”.

[…] Back then, the Government promised “final” policy decisions to be made “later this year”, but on Monday Brown said the reforms will be split into two parts.

Monday December 23, 2024 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 23/12/24

Be water wise and drive safely – but where’s the guidance on which swimming spots are best avoided?

If we all heed the advice given by earnest ministers of the Crown in the two most recent statements posted on the government’s website, the pressure will be eased – just a tad – for beleaguered Health Minister Shane Reti. In the only other statement we found in our latest monitoring of what ministers have been announcing, Reti brought us up to speed on what is being done to recruit more doctors.

Centrist: Phones in prisons.....

Phones in prisons: The pros, cons, and challenges of inmate communication

Prison phone access under control

Controlled and monitored prisoner calls to loved ones can reduce reoffending, but contraband cellphones enable crime and risk the safety of people both inside and outside of the prison.

David Farrar: Why is NZ in recession?

The GDP data is bad – very bad. The economy has shrunk in the last two quarters. The question is why. There are two broad arguments. They are:

• This is due to the austerity regime of Nicola Willis and her savage public sector cuts
• This is due to the high interest rates imposed by the Reserve Bank to bring inflation down under control which skyrocketed under Grant Robertson.

David Farrar: Grant Duncan on the change in universities

Grant Duncan writes:

What’s unusual lately, though, is to see university administrators taking public stands on contentious political events, shutting down or de-platforming certain people, and imposing particular political opinions as the “correct” opinions.