Lindsay Mitchell: Nash goes on the offensive and gets it wrong

Minister Stuart Nash does a weekly session with National MP, Mark Mitchell, on the Mike Hosking NewstalkZB show.

This morning, before Hosking had even asked an opening question Nash waded in:

NASH: "Hey Mike I haven't heard you comment on the December figures last year when 19,000  handed in their benefit and got back to work. Was that in one of your commentaries?"

Melanie Phillips: Laurence Fox Faces Down the Idiot Bullies of Wokedom. Bravo!

The day after I posted this blog explaining why virtue-signalling “anti-racists” were the real racists in our society, the actor Laurence Fox performed the astonishing feat of going on BBC Question Time and not behaving like an actor. That is to say, he expressed views which were sensible, reasoned and moderate – and thus brought the usual pitchfork-waving mob down on his head.

In reply to audience member Rachael Boyle, a beyond-satire lecturer in woke studies who said criticism of Meghan Markle was racist and Fox was guilty of white privilege, he said it was obviously not and he obviously wasn’t.

James Delingpole: Donald Trump Vs Greta and the Prophets of Doom

“We must reject the perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of the apocalypse,” declared President Trump on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Gosh, what 17-year old pig-tailed school drop out could he possibly have meant by that?

Earlier in the day, Greta Thunberg had delivered her usual cheery message of doom and gloom – “Pretty much nothing has been done” – to the assembled globalist elite.

But President Trump wasn’t having any of this apocalyptic nonsense. Not one bit.

“This is not a time for pessimists. It is a time for optimism,” he declared.

NZCPR Weekly: Shaping Impressionable Minds

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we investigate how the Government is allowing school children to be indoctrinated with political propaganda, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Barry Brill, a former Energy Minister and the Chairman of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition, has examined the Government’s new climate change resource for 11 to 14 year old children and reveals that it is designed to teach climate activism instead of science, and our poll asks whether you believe our Education Act should protect children from political indoctrination.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Karl du Fresne: The education system's latest ideological project - the grooming of Greta Thunberg clones

There was a striking synchronicity in the timing of two of the New Year’s first political pronouncements. 

On January 13, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced that parents would in future be required to give written consent for their children to attend religious instruction classes.

This effectively signalled the end of religious teaching in state schools, since parents are far less likely to opt in than to opt out, as they are permitted to do now. RI classes will likely wither on the vine through lack of interest, which is Hipkins’ avowed intention.

GWPF Newsletter: Angela Merkel Urges Dialogue Between Skeptics And Believers To Tackle Climate Change

Davos: US And Europe Clash Over Climate Change 

In this newsletter:

1) Angela Merkel Urges Dialogue Between Skeptics And Believers To Tackle Climate Change
Reuters, 23 January 2020
 
2) World Bank Chief's Davos Snub Dashes Hopes Of Climate Consensus
The Guardian 23 January 2020

Breaking Views Update: Week of 19.01.20

Saturday January 25, 2020

News:
National launches petition to overturn Motiti judgment 
National wants the Government to go back to the foreshore and seabed playbook and change the law to overturn a court decision that helped protect Māori rights.

Fisheries spokesperson Ian McKelvie says a Court of Appeal decision upholding the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s rights to create a protected marine area in the waters around Motiti Island meant local councils now have the power to apply fishing bans wherever they see fit.

Barry Soper: Time ripe for Māori Party resurgence

Tomorrow the blue blazers of the Ratana brass band will be dusted off, the euphoniums and trombones will glitter in the sun, the drums will be ratta-tatt-tatting and the drum major will be swinging the mace, leading a never-ending stream of reverential politicians onto the marae near Whanganui. 

They're reverential because, while it may be all about celebrating the birth of the prophet Wiremu Ratana, it's actually about politics and never more so this than this year.

The Māori Party, wiped out at the last election, is poised to make a comeback and while that's a frightening prospect for Labour, it's music to National's ears.

GWPF Newsletter: In Davos, Facts Trump The Fears

The New Culture War: How Populism Will Heat Up The Climate Fight

In this newsletter:

1) In Davos, Facts Trump The Fears
Adam Creighton, The Australian, 22 January 2020
 
2) Davos 2020: Bankers Push Back Against Climate Action Calls
Financial Times, 21 January 2020

Lindsay Mitchell: Carmel rains on Jacinda's parade

At the very moment Jacinda Ardern was promising a "factual election campaign free from misinformation" her Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni was issuing a desperate press release about the latest rise in benefit numbers.

The number of people on Jobseeker benefits has gone up 10 percent since December 2018. 

Here's Sepuloni's take: 

GWPF Newsletter: Donald Trump Rejects Environmental 'Prophets Of Doom' In Davos Address

The World Is Safer From Climate-Related Disasters Than Ever, New Study Shows

In this newsletter:

1) Donald Trump Rejects Environmental 'Prophets Of Doom' In Davos Address
SBS News, 21 January 2020
 
2) President Trump: We Must Reject The Perennial Prophets Of Doom & Their Apocalyptic Predictions
World Economic Forum, 21 January 2020

GWPF Newsetter: David Attenborough Is Making The Same Mistake As Greta Thunberg

Ocean Warming: Not As Simple As Headlines Say

In this newsletter:

1) David Attenborough Is Making The Same Mistake As Greta Thunberg
Ross Clark, The Spectator, 17 January 2020
 
2) Forget Policymakers. Greta Thunberg And Her Allies Are Targeting CEOs Now
Christian Hetzner, Forbes 13 January 2020

Breaking Views Update: Week of 12.01.20

Saturday January 18, 2020

News:
Film-maker's legal 'funds running low' ahead of defamation trial with Sir Bob Jones over 'hate speech'
More money is being raised for a Kiwi film-maker's legal fund as she prepares for a courtroom showdown with Sir Bob Jones after calling for his knighthood to be revoked for "hate speech".

The well-known businessman filed defamation proceedings against Renae Maihi in May 2018, after the Toronto-based artist delivered a petition to Parliament demanding Jones lose his title.

Karl du Fresne: Then and now

They say that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, but I’m not so sure. It can be instructive from time to time to recall how things were in the past and to ask the tricky question, is life better now? 

Consider the following:

I remember when my home town, with a population of 3000, had its own daily paper and everyone read it.

I remember when primary schoolkids got the strap for minor infractions and secondary schoolboys were caned.

GWPF Newsletter: Boris Johnson Snubs Climate Activists And Saves UK Airline

Tim Newark: End Unfair Air Passenger Tax And Ignore The Angry Greens

In this newsletter:

1) Boris Johnson Snubs Climate Activists And Saves UK Airline
The Guardian, 14 January 2020
 
2) Government Criticised For Prioritising Airline Over Environment 
The London Economic, 15 January 2020

GWPF Newsletter: The World’s Next Energy Bonanza

Sir Roger Scruton: The Politics Of Climate Change, The Inquisition & BBC Censorship

In this newsletter:

1) The World’s Next Energy Bonanza
Foreign Policy, 9 January 2020 
 
2) Terence Corcoran: Mark Carney’s War Against The Fossil Fuel Industry Is Just The Beginning
Financial Post, 9 January 2020

Sean Plunket: Should Climate Change be taught in schools?

Minister for Climate Change James Shaw defends initiative to introduce a curriculum teaching the impact of climate change in schools.

In his first interview for 2020 Sean Plunket challenges the Minister to explain the syllabus behind and justification for a curriculum dedicated to Climate Change in schools.

GWPF Newsletter: Science Scandal Deepens As New Study Refutes Alarming Ocean Acidification Claims

Peter Ridd Calls For Investigation Into Scientific Fraud & Cover-Up

In this newsletter:

1) Peter Ridd: Scientific Misconduct At James Cook University Confirms My Worst Fears
Global Warming Policy Forum, 10 January 2020
 
2) Ex-Judge To Investigate Ocean Acidification Research Controversy
Times Higher Education, 8 January 2020

Breaking Views update: Week of 5.01.20

Saturday January 11, 2020

News:
Decade-long beach access dispute at pā site in Oakura continues with complaint to Heritage NZ
A campaigner who has tried for more than 10 years to stop people accessing a Taranaki beach over a former pā site is hoping a complaint to Heritage NZ will help resolve the issue.

The land is owned by the Department of Conservation and administered by the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), which is unable to stop people from walking over the site.

GWPF Newsletter: Global Deaths From Natural Disasters Drop To Record Low

False Alarm: Study Refutes Findings that Acidification Affects Fish Behavior

In this newsletter:

1) The Good News Nobody Reports: Global Deaths From Natural Disasters Drop To Record Low
Munich Re & GWPF, 8 January 2020
 
2) False Alarm: Study Refutes Findings that Acidification Affects Fish Behavior
The Scientist, 8 January 2020

GWPF Newsletter - Fighting Fire With Fire: Lessons From Australia’s Bushfires

There’s Only One Way To Make Bushfires Less Powerful: Take Out The Stuff That Burns

In this newsletter:

1) Australia’s Firestorms Follow Move Away From Cool Burning 
The Australia, 4 January 2020

2) Arsonists Fuelling Australia’s Bushfire Crisis As Arrest Toll Hits 183
The Australian, 8 January 2018

Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup - Are politicians delivering for New Zealanders?

Are our politicians doing a good job? Are they on top of the urgent problems that need fixing? These are some of the big questions that have arisen from reflecting on the last year in politics, especially as we shift into an election year.

Yesterday’s Political Roundup looked at the politicians who performed strongly in 2019 – see: Evaluating NZ’s politicians. But many end-of-year reviews also focused on where the politicians failed, especially the Government, given that 2019 was pronounced by Jacinda Ardern to be her Year of Delivery. The consensus is that the Year of Delivery failed to eventuate.

Melanie Phillips: The killing of Qasem Soleimani

It’s impossible to exaggerate the importance of the elimination of the Iranian al Quds commander Qasem Soleimani. He was killed by a US airstrike which targeted him at Baghdad airport, where he had been met by his close henchman Abu Mahdi al Muhandis and who was killed alongside him in a vehicle convoy with five others. 

This was America’s response to Iran’s escalating aggression, including an attack on US forces at an Iraqi military base on December 27 that killed a US contractor and wounded several others, and after an Iranian-backed mob attacked the US embassy on December 29 scrawling “Soleimani is my leader” on the guardhouses.

Matt Ridley: We’ve just had the best decade in human history. Seriously

Let nobody tell you that the second decade of the 21st century has been a bad time. We are living through the greatest improvement in human living standards in history. 

Extreme poverty has fallen below 10 per cent of the world’s population for the first time. It was 60 per cent when I was born. 

Global inequality has been plunging as Africa and Asia experience faster economic growth than Europe and North America; child mortality has fallen to record low levels; famine virtually went extinct; malaria, polio and heart disease are all in decline.

Little of this made the news, because good news is no news. 

Viv Forbes: Put Foresters back in the Forests

There was a time when Australian foresters kept Australian forests safe and productive. They maintained access tracks bridges and fire breaks, undertook prescribed burning, cleared flammable litter from the forest floor, cut suckers, manned fire lookouts and maintained their own fire-fighting crews in decentralised districts. University-trained professional foresters were supported by tough experienced rangers who learned their job in the bush.

Almost every advance in bushfire management in Australia, from the science of fire behaviour to aerial burning was thanks to our foresters. Into the 1980’s they were regarded as international leaders.

GWPF Newsletter: U.S. Shale Revolution And The Middle East Crisis

How The US Shale Revolution Changed The Face Of Geopolitics

In this newsletter:

1) Gaurav Sharma: Middle East Tension Will Bring More Oil Market Speculators And Yet More Barrels
Forbes, 6 January 2020
 
2) Dan Eberhart: Global Oil Supply Glut Gives Trump Room To Maneuver On Iran
Forbes, 3 January 2020

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: What’s been up in Lebanon?

Last semester (September to December, ending just before Xmas after being extended) was not an easy one for yours truly.

The students stopped attending classes halfway through October to attend mass demonstrations. Many academic staff staged a brief strike in support. Foreign students packed their bags and went home, as did numerous Lebanese students with families outside Beirut. The rest of the semester was on-and-off as the place vacillated between being a functioning university and a drop-in-when-you-feel-like-it venue for students bothering to grace us with their presence. Academics were exhorted by the senior administration to be ‘flexible’ with regard to course delivery and assessment.

Lindsay Mitchell: My prediction Ardern would increase child poverty

New Year seems to be a time when predictions are checked. In September 2017 I predicted Jacinda Ardern would increase child poverty if she became Prime Minister.

On 7 of 9 measures introduced under the Child Poverty Reduction Act, to June 2018 poverty had increased. That's fairly out-dated data now and not a particularly useful measuring stick.

But also now known is that children in benefit dependent households rose between June 2018 and 2019. From Otago University's Child Poverty Monitor:

GWPF Newsletter: Lies, Damn Lies And Tall Climate Tales

The BBC, Bob Ward & The Climate Catastrophists’ Attack On Dissent

In this newsletter:

1) Lies, Damn Lies And Tall Climate Tales
Global Warming Policy Forum, 2 January 2020
 
2) John Constable: The Future of Oil, Gas, and Coal: Stranded Assets or Safe Refuge?
GWPF Energy, 1 January 2020

Breaking Views Update: Week of 29.12.19

Friday January 3, 2020

News:
Open to talks on Maori papal apology call
Te Runanga o Te Hahi Katorika ki Aotearoa chair Sr Tui Cadigan, RSM, said she would be open to a thorough discussion on a call by the Māori Council’s executive director for an apology from Pope Francis for acts by some of his predecessors that laid the basis for the colonisation of Aotearoa.

Frank Newman: Wealth destroying economists

What is it with some economists who are fixated with taxing wealth? Economist Shamubeel Eaqub has published an opinion piece, titled "Should New Zealand just tax land?" - view HERE.

In my view taxing wealth creators more is a certain way to demoralise a society's entrepreneurial spirit and decelerate an economy. Surely, economists like Shamubeel Eaqub would be of much more benefit if they turned their mind to the creation of wealth rather than its erosion.

GWPF Newsletter: Happy New Year!

U.S. Congress Abolishes Subsidies For Wind & Solar Energy

In this newsletter:

1) U.S. Congress Abolishes Subsidies For Wind & Solar Energy
Houston Chronicle, 26 December 2019 

2) Ben Pile: 2019 -The Year Of Peak Green Bullsh*t
Spiked, 30 December 2019