Caleb Anderson: What happens when YOUR truth is not MY truth?

A recent interview between Jack Tame and one of the co-leaders of The Maori Party was revealing.

This interview was revealing in five key respects

1.  Perhaps predictably, the interview was markedly gentler, and less probing, than an interview with David Seymour only a week before where similar issues were discussed.  There is no prima facie case for a different (and less probing) approach to be taken here.

Clive Bibby: Highjacked by those who don't live here

When the history of New Zealand is upgraded to include the last 50 years, scribes who feel a responsibility to report the truth should have no difficulty identifying those who tried to destroy the relatively harmonious race relationships established during the 19th century.

Contrary to the false propaganda being promoted by TePati Maori and the radical idealogues on the Waitangi Tribunal supported by those who joined the Hikoi to Parliament, race relationships in this Country continues to be in pretty good shape.

Alastair Frizzell: The Dysfunctional Solar Market

The recent demise of Solar Zero has highlighted some of the problems that exist in the New Zealand solar market. While I do not know the specifics of the Solar Zero failure I would not speculate that the Company may have been stripped of assets, including the hundred and ten million dollars the tax payer bucketed into the company. Solar Zero’s problems indicate wider problems within the industry.

The Government aims to significantly increase solar generation. The chances of that happening are, I believe impossible in the current climate, no pun intended. The reason, our love of bureaucracy and our abhorrence of long-term investments. Let me explain.

Dr Clare Craig: Asymptomatic Spread is Still a Myth

In 2020 and 2021 anyone claiming Covid was like influenza was dismissed as a conspiracy theorist. In 2024, the NHS is trying to treat influenza with all the crazy superstitions used for Covid. The concept of asymptomatic influenza and the blind faith in masks would, in any other time, have been laughed at. Yet, here we are, drowning in these myths, perpetuated by authorities and swallowed whole by the public. These ideas were crazy for Covid and they are crazy for influenza.

David Farrar: Would Waititi qualify for residency?

I’m not against having character questions as part of residency applications but I note that these questions could see TPM co-leader Rawiri Waititi fail to get residency, if he was an applicant.

DTNZ: US homelessness hits new record

Critics say inadequate recording methods may be understating the scale of the crisis.

The number of homeless people in the United States has reached a record level since the federal government began tracking teh figures in 2007. According to data released this week, almost three quarters of a million people, 771,000 are homeless in America, an increase of 18% compared to 2023, marking the sharpest annual rise in decades.

Sir Bob Jones: Fashionable foolishness

Is the Land Information Minister Chris Penk bi-sexual?

I pose the question given the opening line in Stuff’s The Post ascribing him in the fashionable plural, normally in brackets, such as (he, him, it) and the like but in this case, specifically “Land Information Minister Chris Penk have declined the proposal to rename “Petone”, “Pito-one”.

Capitalist: Trump, America and the Canal

Recently Donald Trump said America is being ripped off by the Panama Canal and he may look at ways to take it back. This is wonderful news and should be heartily supported by those who believe in the rule of law. But first, as is often the case, some history is required.

Gary Moller: The Evolution and Decline of New Zealand's Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)

The article linked here motivated me to write this article:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360530697/acc-uniquely-kiwi-success-story-we-need-ask-questions-about

Monday December 30, 2024 

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Ross Meurant: No Happiness is the Enemy

For some time now, media reports in our nearest and most valuable neighbour, Australia, have been reporting on elevated antisemitic pro Palestine tensions.  Melbourne in particular.

Most recently, Breakingviews has carried opinions lauding Netanyahu’s response to Lebanon based Hamas-led militant groups surprise attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which involved a rocket barrage and a few thousand militants breaching the Gaza–Israel barrier, attacking Israeli civilian communities and military bases.

Damien Grant: Are we in a cyclical downturn - or is this something darker?

Are we in a cyclical downturn, or are we on the precipice of something darker?

In the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update; the HYEFU, released on Tuesday, Treasury believes the former. Things are difficult, with economic growth in the current fiscal year (ending in June 2025) expected to be just 0.5%, but will bounce back to 3.3% the following year.

Sadly for the economists at Number One the Terrace, the quants at the Department of Statistics debunked that optimism on, let me see, Wednesday. Our economy shrank one percent in the September quarter and all indications are the economy continues to contract. It would require a heroic surge in productive output in the remaining six months to get us to half a percent economic growth this fiscal year.

Guest Post: PhDs

A guest post by a reader on Kiwiblog:

The taxpayer subsidised study for 7355 PhD students in 2023. These are both foreign and domestic students. Because the foreign students pay domestic fees, NZ is considered a cost-effective place to do a PhD.

Breaking down those 7355 (data from the TEC website):

Bert Olivier: Is Peace Possible Today?

As we approach Christmas, with its connotations of peace and goodwill to all people, and the New Year, when one traditionally comes up with ‘resolutions’ for the year ahead, with the intention of compensating for mistakes made during the past year, and of initiating creative projects for the future, one has to ask: is all of this just Heideggerian ‘idle talk,’ or is peace a realistic possibility?

Joe Bastardi: Sun and planets gravitational considerations on the magnetic poles

I wish to draw your attention to this from Dr Arthur Viterito:

“The latest readings of the Magnetic North Pole show that the movement of the Pole has suddenly decelerated. Here is the relevant quote from a brief article describing the phenomenon Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Officially Has A New Position | IFLScience

Chris Morrison: Recent Temperature Falls Likely to Put a Dampener on ‘Hottest Year Evah’ Stories

Stand by for another bout of ‘Hottest Year Evah’ stories as the mainstream media pursues its campaign to induce mass climate psychosis and prepare the ground for the oncoming Net Zero catastrophe. Alas, enjoy it only a little while longer since this story may have to be retired after putting in such a sterling propaganda shift. Global temperatures are falling like a stone, while the oceans are cooling at a remarkably rapid rate. In the U.K., the year is likely to show a second annual temperature fall since the alleged ‘record’ year in 2022.

David Farrar: The only way they’ll stop

The FSU announced:

Today, the Free Speech Union will sue both Hutt City Council and its Chief Executive, Jo Miller (in her personal capacity), after they censored an insert at Council libraries and information centres, breaching Hutt City residents’ freedom of expression, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union.

“Last year, the Hutt City Council removed a paid advertisement inserted in newspapers from all council sites. We believe this is an unlawful act that flies in the face of ratepayers’ speech rights.

Sunday December 29, 2024 

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David Farrar: The G7 heads right

Upcoming elections will mean by mid 2025 they will be:

Dr Tilak Doshi: Germany’s Economic and Political Suicide

It’s that festive time of the year when interesting tales get told around a fireplace. So here goes (minus the fireplace).

Once upon a time there lived a country that was the envy of the world. It was among the world’s pre-eminent producers of manufactured goods. From chemicals and pharmaceuticals to precision engineering and the brewing of beer, it was second to none. Its people’s work skills, industriousness and discipline became the national hallmark of civilisational success. The country gained fame and fortune in bringing the luxuries of fine automobiles to the world’s rich and aspiring middle classes.

Michael Reddell: The Secretary to the Treasury defending govt fiscal policy

I wasn’t envisaging writing anything more for a while, but….Welllington’s weather certainly isn’t conducive to either the beach or the garden, and the Herald managed to get an interview with Iain Rennie, the new Secretary to the Treasury (not usually the sort of stuff for 27 December either).

I’ve always been rather uneasy about heads of government departments doing interviews, on anything other than operational/internal matters for which they have specific personal responsibility. When they get onto policy it is never quite clear whether they are expressing their own views or championing those of the minister, and even if the former they are inevitably somewhat constrained by the views and tolerances of the minister. The primary responsibility, after all, of heads of policy agencies is provision of free and frank policy advice to the minister.

Chris Morrison: Science Shock - CO2 is Good for the Planet, Peer-Reviewed Studies Suggest

Dramatic evidence has been published in a number of recent science papers that carbon dioxide levels are already ‘saturated’, meaning little or no further warming is to be expected and rising CO2 levels are all beneficial.

Half of human emissions are being quickly pushed back into the biosphere, the scientists say, causing substantial, famine-busting plant growth, while the rest is entering a ‘saturated’ atmosphere and having a minimal effect on global temperatures. One of the papers accepting the human involvement in rising CO2 is published by the CO2 Coalition, which notes: “We like CO2, so should you.”

Brendan O'Neill: This year, Israel showed us what anti-fascism really means

In 2024, the Jewish State did more to combat racial hatred than any of its preening critics in the West.

In the future, when humanity comes to its senses, 2024 will be seen as a watershed year in the battle against fascism. More fascist-adjacent killers and loons were bumped off over the past 12 months than in any other year in my lifetime. From the leader of an army of anti-Semites that tells its followers to buy cheap knives and ‘cut off the heads of Jews’ (Yahya Sinwar) to the spiritual head of a self-styled ‘Party of God’ that longs to excise those ‘cancerous’ Jews from the Middle East (Hassan Nasrallah), it’s been a rough year for neo-fascist nuts. And about time, too.

David Farrar: Trump just wants to copy NZ citizenship law

Politico reports:

Donald Trump’s team is crafting an executive order to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants, a monumental move the president-elect’s allies say is a key step in their long-term strategy: getting the issue before the Supreme Court.

Saturday December 28, 2024 

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Dave Patterson: Next, You’ll Tell Me You Gave Away the Panama Canal

Is the Panama Canal just the first of Trump’s geographic mergers and acquisitions?

Many believed that President Jimmy Carter’s relinquishing the Panama Canal was foolish. There is the old joke telling of Carter, unable to sleep, wandering through the White House gazing at the portraits of past US presidents when an apparition of Teddy Roosevelt appeared. “Why so glum?” Teddy asked. Carter then recounted all the mistakes he’d made, the failures in foreign policy, and the faux pas in decision-making during his administration. Teddy, attempting to console, tells Carter, “Not to worry. Being President of the US is a big job. You have to expect some setbacks. Whew! For a minute there, I thought you were going to tell me you gave away the Panama Canal.”

Ashley Church: Fighting fire with fire

I’ve attended many Pro-Israel rallies over the years and have been a speaker at most of them – but my first experience of a ‘counter rally’, where pro-Pally protesters turn up to disrupt was in 2018.

That was the year of the 70th anniversary of the modern State of Israel. It was also about a year after the Israel Institute of NZ had been established and I was asked to be the MC for an outdoor event at Silo Park in Auckland.

David Farrar: Good and bad racing changes

A good decision by Winston Peters:

Racing Minister Winston Peters has announced the Government’s plans to end greyhound racing in New Zealand.

“This is not a decision that is taken lightly but is ultimately driven by protecting the welfare of racing dogs.

DTNZ: Legacy media death spiral - CNN’s viewership plummets to new lows

Leftist legacy media outlet CNN has seen its viewership numbers sink faster than a lead balloon since Donald Trump’s triumphant return to the electoral scene in November.

According to Nielsen Media Research, CNN’s prime-time viewership has plummeted by a huge 45%, now only managing to captivate a paltry 394,000 viewers.

John McLean: Pity the sexualized child

New Zealand Media Council joins the Herald in celebrating (Trans)sexualization of children

I’ve covered in a previous Substack a video published on the Herald’s website celebrating a seven year old boy performing a bit like a little drag queen. The video – funded they NZ On Air (i.e. your taxes) - was joyously entitled Seven-year-old quad-drifter in stilettos!

Tim Donner: The Slow, Painful, and Imminent Demise of DEI

It has become deeply embedded in American culture, requiring a herculean effort by Donald Trump to reverse.

It is the most malignant foundation of progressive ideology. Elon Musk, among others, calls it a “mind virus.” And it appears the American people who were bullied into accepting it have finally had enough. It is the gospel of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which was given birth by Barack Obama and then overwhelmed the country with remarkable ease and haste following the George Floyd affair in 2020 when liberals and conservatives alike were riven with anger.

Dave Patterson: How Did the US Navy Shoot Down Its Own Fighter?

When America’s naval ships engage in friendly fire, something has gone terribly wrong.

Once again, the spotlight is on the failure of President Joe Biden’s military policies. There are few other explanations for the US Navy assigned to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea being in a position to shoot down one of its own fighters. Questions that need to be answered: What were the Pentagon’s maritime and air policies from which the rules of engagement (ROE) were created? What training procedures led those manning the combat information center radar and weapons operators to identify a US Navy F/A-18EF, the Super Hornet, as a hostile inbound aircraft?

Friday December 27, 2024 

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Professor Robert MacCulloch: End welfare transfers to high income families...

The Only Way Out for the Coalition (and NZ) in 2025 is to end welfare transfers to high income families

Budget 2025 should be the austerity budget that Finance Minister Nicola Willis didn't have the guts to deliver in 2024. Instead, her lame first year Budget prolonged New Zealand's economic stagnation (of course, former PM Hipkins and Worst Finance Minister Ever, Grant Robertson, bear most responsibility). The problem is that Willis doesn't want to associated with former National Party Finance Minister Ruth Richardson, who cut government spending by over 5% in her famous 1991 Budget. However, that problem is easily solved.

Jeffrey A Tucker: Merry Christmas to the Merchants!

We should all do more to celebrate our local merchants. They connect the community through hard work, great risk, tremendous creativity, and service, and yet too often, they do not get the appreciation they deserve. The hours can be grueling. The customers are variously unruly. Supply chains are frustrating. Dealing with taxes and regulations seems often impossible. They’ve dealt with awful inflation and then been scapegoated for it!

And yet they are there for all of us day in and day out, making our lives better.

Ursula Edgington: No memory holes for the good or the bad

Some reflections as we near the end of another year of 1984 dystopia.

As 2024 draws to a close, it’s inevitable that we reflect. Although some progress has been made, we remain in limbo – stuck between two entirely different worlds. One minute, we feel inspired and uplifted at gatherings with diverse, freedom-loving groups. Next minute – jarringly – we’re confronted with someone seemingly stepping out of a Dr Who’s tardis, wearing a facemask: “I have to isolate -I just tested positive”.

DTNZ: Hundreds of illegal migrants attempt Christmas Day English Channel crossing

Christmas Day in the UK saw heightened illegal migrant activity in the English Channel, as improved weather conditions facilitated crossings.

Over 350 individuals had reached UK waters by the morning, with hundreds more attempting the journey.

A lull in poor weather allowed small boats to navigate calmer seas, with Border Force vessels intercepting some migrants near Dover.

Chris Lynch: Historic ship to dock in Lyttelton for 175th anniversary of European settlement

Lyttelton Harbour will welcome the Dutch tall sailing ship Oosterschelde on 27 December 2024, as Canterbury begins its 175th anniversary celebrations of European settlement.

The ship is set to dock at 9:00 am, marking a milestone in the region’s rich history.

This date holds special significance for Canterbury. It was on 27 December 1850 that the Cressy, the last of the First Four Ships, arrived in Lyttelton Harbour, completing the journey of the first Canterbury Pilgrims.

DTNZ: US shuts down its ‘propaganda and censorship’ agency

The Global Engagement Center was described by Elon Musk as a “threat to democracy”.

The US State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) has shut down after Republicans cut its funding. The agency was responsible for spreading propaganda abroad and, according to conservatives, censoring dissident thought at home.

The GEC announced on Monday that it would cease operations by the end of that day. “The State Department has consulted with Congress regarding next steps,” the statement added.

Dieuwe de Boer: December 25th 1814 - The Saviour is Bourne to New Zealand

Former colonies of the British Empire all have an origin story: America's Pilgrims, Australia's First Fleet, and Canada's Thanksgiving. What of New Zealand?

New Zealand's Waitangi Day marks the formal start of the New Zealand government, much like America's Independence Day. That's quite late in our history and was only possible because of the first settlers. This particular date ought to be one of great civil and religious significance. Who were our first settlers and what did the first few years of that mission look like?

Thursday December 26, 2024 

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A.E. Thompson: Collins' Over-correction on the Marsden Fund in 2024

The Marsden Fund was established by the government in 1994 and we the population pay for it through taxes. After Grant Robinson changed the qualifying criteria for its funding awards, Judith Collins has now reset those criteria to be closer to the foundational purpose of the Fund. From Collins' responses on the matter in parliament on 17/12/2024 (You Tube: "Taxpayers' Union | Judith Collins deals with Marsden Fund questions in Parliament"), she seems to be ignorant on the topic of science. Good research on social issues is as much science as are chemistry, physics etc. If she knew what she was talking about she would have simply emphasized that she is making Marsden Fund focus on particular types of science closer to that envisaged in setting up the Fund.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 22.12.24

Thursday December 26, 2024 

News:
Whangārei hapū wins appeal against subdivision
The judges who threw out a consent for a Whangārei subdivision say it is one of the clearest cases they have ever seen of a site that should not be developed because of its significance to Māori.

Whangārei hapū Ngāti Kahu o Torongare is celebrating after winning an Environment Court appeal against a 93-home development on land at Onoke Pā, in Te Kamo.

Dr Will Jones: Church of England Tells Clergy to Edit Christmas Carols....

Church of England Tells Clergy to Edit Christmas Carols to “Avoid Unnecessary Offence”

If you’re planning to attend a carol service tonight, says Celia Walden in the Telegraph, you might want to check out the hymn sheet first, to see that you’re not singing ‘O Come, All Ye Wokeful’. Here’s an excerpt.

Nuclear waste could be an electricity game-changer

Today’s so-called nuclear waste is only slightly used nuclear fuel, as only about 3% of its potential has been realized before it is classified as “waste.” Thus, we are burying fuel which still has 97% of its potential for generating electricity that has yet to be realized.

Here’s an energy analogy:

Dr Will Jones: Britain on Brink of Recession....

Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves’s Horror Budget

Britain is on the brink of a recession after official figures were revised to show zero growth in the third quarter of the year and living standards fell, with Rachel Reeves’s horror Budget blamed. The Telegraph has more.

David Farrar: Unfit remarks

Newsroom reports:

Carr, who ends his five-year tenure as the commission’s first chair on Sunday, was also given an opportunity for a parting message to policymakers by the select committee.

Bonner Cohen: Trump charts a fresh climate course

The pall that descended on the latest UN climate confab in the wake of Donald Trump’s election was justified. It’s a foretaste of things under an administration determined to part company with global environmentalists.

Along with issuing the obligatory proclamations of impending planetary doom, the gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan, was tasked with arranging financing (taxpayer handouts) to help poorer countries deal with what are said to be the ravages of human-induced climate change. Hysterical rhetoric was duly produced, but when it came to wealth nations forking over cash, giddy expectations were not realized.

Dr Bryce Edwards: National decline in 2024

While support for Act and New Zealand First has remained fairly steady over the last twelve months, the average of the last five public polls shows National declining from an election result of 38.08 down to 32.94. This is a significant fall. Most commentators identify three key liabilities for National. Its leader, Christopher Luxon, has poor communication skills and poor judgement, the economy appears to be deteriorating under his watch, and the public does not trust the Government to manage the public health system.

Wednesday December 25, 2024 

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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!

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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!

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