Michael Bassett: TV One journalists fail to notice there's a new government

As we already know, adjusting to the arrival of new leaders in the Beehive is proving difficult for the Mainstream Media (MSM). Many journalists seem not to have noticed that the public voted for change. They need to recognise this fact. I suspect the problem might be with the journalists’ education.

Cam Slater: Labour Left Lots of Landmines

Labour has left loads of economic landmines for the incoming Government to step on. Fortunately, they are being discovered but each one presents its own unique set of circumstances to defuse.

Labour is the political equivalent of a Hamas IED factory, crafting landmines and other fiscal explosions for the unwary and inattentive to injure themselves with. The latest is the Three Waters debacle:

Brendan O'Neill: The staggering naivety of the Israelophobes

So what’s a war crime today? Compelling your conquered enemies to hand over their weapons is a war crime today. Witness the meltdown of the Israelophobes over that footage of military-age men near Jabalia in Gaza handing their guns to the IDF. The men are stripped to their underpants. They look suitably defeated. They bring out their assault rifles and solemnly add them to a pile of confiscated weapons. The legion Israel-loathers in Western polite society are appalled. They’re reaching for the smelling salts. They’ve never seen such humiliation. Were they born yesterday?

Chris Trotter: Contested ground

Last week The Waitangi Tribunal released Tino Rangatiratanga me te Kāwanatanga: The Report on Stage 2 of the Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry(Wai 1040). For the sake of brevity, I shall refer to this spawling document as the Northland Report. Sadly, the Report seems destined to make the already fraught relationship between Māori and the Crown even worse. Questions relating to who wields sovereignty in New Zealand – including Northland – are fast acquiring the sort of weight and momentum that drives people irresistibly towards the conclusion that push is coming to shove.

David Farrar: Squealing unions

Radio NZ reports:

Unions have targeted the office of ACT Party leader David Seymour in Auckland as they fight against government plans to repeal Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).

Gerry Eckhoff: Public Interest Journalism Fund

A reasonable question, not yet asked as to the media’s acceptance of  $55 million, is - did the media or its governing body ask for this considerable sum of money or was it offered by the Labour Government?  

Where is the paper trail of emails to determine the media’s role and also that of the Labour government.

Daily Telegraph NZ: Ditching Paul Hunt a good start, but not enough to fix the HRC – Act

“The Justice Minister’s decision not to reappoint Paul Hunt is a good start, but doesn’t go far enough to acknowledge the Human Rights Commission’s rot,” says Act MP Todd Stephenson.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: These leaked Cabinet papers are a snorefest

Let's talk about the public service leaks against the new Government.

There's been a couple of leaks of Cabinet papers in just the first two weeks of the Government. Obviously, they're designed to hurt the new Government- and they're probably coming from within the public service.

Bless- that's got to be your first thought about this. Because obviously, whoever's doing the leaking is going out of their way to snaffle these Cabinet documents and get them leaked to the media cause they think they're on to dynamite here.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 10.12.23

Tuesday December 12, 2023 

News:
Far North iwi and hapū unite to seek customary title over coastline and sea
A group of Far North iwi and hapū have united to take a landmark case to the High Court, seeking customary title over a large swath of the coastline to protect the moana for all.

A spokesman for the group, Reuben Taipari, said the hapū and iwi have been concerned for generations about the degradation of the sea, and if granted, customary marine title (CMT) would benefit everybody in the Far North, as well as visitors and tourists who want to visit the area.

Eric Crampton: Nipping tobacco prohibition in the bud

On 5 December 1933, ninety years ago this week, America ended alcohol prohibition.

Fourteen years of prohibition had reduced drinking, but at a terrible cost. Organised crime took over what had been a legal and taxed market. Gang warfare over alcohol became common. And adulterated black market alcohol caused a lot of harm.

JC: With Friends Like These…

Labour friends have sealed their, and Labour’s, fate

Only two days into the new parliament, the next election had already been decided. The antics in parliament by Labour’s coalition partners have seen to that. This country is made up mainly of people who are tolerant of most things but they will not stand for the antics of either the Maori Party or the Green Party that were on show last Wednesday and Thursday. They achieved nothing other than bringing parliament into complete and utter disrepute.

Wendy Geus: Timaru Herald Ignores Rising Star’s Brilliant Debut

It’s not every day a new MP makes such a splash in the House on debut that veteran journalist Audrey Young declares his offering to be the best maiden speech she has heard in her 30 years in the business, with mutterings around the press gallery and beyond of big things ahead for the rookie MP.

Everyone was talking about James Meager, the new National MP for Rangitata. Coming first and delivering with such power and impact, his speech upstaged our new PM. But he needn’t worry – Winston did that too (also no worries).

David Farrar: So who approved five year contracts?

The Herald reports:

prime Minister Christopher Luxon says big cheques will have to be written to pay out the many contracts canned as a result of repealing Three Waters. …

Luxon admitted there were employees under the scheme who were only one year into five-year contracts who would have to be paid out.

Monday December 11, 2023 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 11/12/23

Watts going on about climate change – minister’s speech sets out govt’s position to COP28

Just one bit of governmental news has been recorded on the Beehive website since Point of Order last checked on what our new bunch of ministers are up to.

It is a copy of the COP28 National Statement for New Zealand which has given Climate Change Minister Simon Watts his moment to shine at an international gathering of representatives from more than 100 countries that have pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.

Lindsay Mitchell: Does the Māori Party really speak for all Māori?

Over the past week New Zealand has seen the Māori Party forcefully assert that it is the true and authentic voice of Māori, and other parties equally strongly assert the Māori Party does not own Māori. Neither faction has provided factual evidence for their position although Shane Jones moved in that direction with an off–the-cuff remark about voting trends that was more anecdotal than objective.

Cam Slater: Spit in the Face of Protests

Heather du Plessis-Allan has a column in yesterday’s paper about how nervous Government ministers are about protests and robust debate. It’s a whole lot of unnecessary hand wringing and tut-tutting if you ask me.

Robert MacCulloch: For the record: the CEO's of NZ & John Key's government are to blame for our ailing infrastructure

This blog does try to be non-partisan, in the sense we critique both sides of our politics. On that note, nearly ten years ago when John Key was PM, I lobbied the government to ramp up investments in infrastructure, both new projects - like a second harbour crossing in Auckland - and repairs to existing infrastructure. We argued to Key that those projects could be his "legacy". He never seemed much interested.

David Farrar: Maybe NZTA will now focus on helping motorists, not hindering them

The Herald reports:

paul reynolds, the former chairman of Waka Kotahi the nz transport agency, has resigned from the board.

Reynolds had been on the board only since February.

Clive Bibby: Scrapping of Lake Onslow pump hydro project makes sense.

I am personally pleased that the Government has taken a new look at its priority list of spending on clean energy projects.

Having said that, my support is conditional on additional projects being ones that make sense and are in the best interests of the nation’s taxpayers and users of the extra energy generated.

The cost of these new projects needs to be seen as a responsible use of the country’s scarce financial resources compared to the huge waste likely to have occurred pursuing some of the last government’s ill conceived ideas.