Sean Plunket asks: Should Te Pāti Māori be banned from Parliament?

Click to listen

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 31/5/24

There WAS something in the Budget for Maori – it’s the farm sector and rural communities that Willis overlooked

Agriculture – the backbone of the economy – was not mentioned in Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ first Budget speech. Nor was there any mention of “farming” or “horticulture” or “rural”.

Hmm.

Maybe there’s something for the farm sector in the deluge of press statements from Ministers eager to lay claim to having secured something for the sectors in their domains of responsibility…

Mike's Minute: Is this the time of year to be miserable?

It seems to have been a miserable week.

We all seem miserable this week.

The boss, who I complained to this week about a bunch of stuff, gaslit me by telling me it’s the time of year everyone gets a bit edgy.

Cam Slater: At Last, Taxpayers Get Some Tax Relief!

Nicola Willis has delivered and saved her job after promising tax cuts during the election or she would resign. For the first time in a decade, we finally have a government that is going to take less from our pockets.

Chris Newman: Treaty Principles Come Before Rhetoric

The principles of law must pre-exist Te Tiriti o Waitangi of 6^th February 1840. Scholars recognise that principles represent the fundamental truth operating as the foundation for all subsequent statements. On “principles”, Black’s Law Dictionary declares, “A truth or proposition so clear that it cannot be proved or contradicted unless by a proposition which is still clearer”. Principles establish the legal maxim, “earlier in time, stronger in law’.

Bruce Moon: Twisting the Treaty has never stopped

A headline in the “Dominion Post” for 27 May 2024 reads “Maori ready their lines of defence of Treaty rights”.  This is followed by an article by K (Guru) Gurunathan, a former Mayor of Kapiti and, we are informed, a “regular opinion contributor”.

 

All very well perhaps but surely it is fair to ask just what are those “Treaty rights” and why indeed do they need “defending”?  Let us refer to the officially authorised 1869 translation of the treaty by T.E. Young of the Native Department.[1]  

Clive Bibby: Rib tickling yarns

Perhaps it is no surprise that, having been a farmer for most of my life, I would appreciate the earthy comments made by rural folk on matters such as what goes on in the corridors where the highest level decisions are made that affect us all. 

I have always had the greatest admiration for those who battle the elements and the bank manager at the same time yet never expect a simple " thank you" from those who benefit from their labours - which is just about the whole population of this blessed country.

Simon O'Connor: Tikanga for some

Criticism of parliament's Assistant Speaker for not allowing speeches from the public gallery is completely inappropriate, and ultimately ironic.

Imagine going onto a marae and as the karanga (call) begins, blasting a trumpet to announce your arrival. Or, as the warrior presents the wero (challenge) you give him a friendly smack on the back, say ‘good on you mate’ and carry on to the front door of the meeting house. Then once inside, proceed to start your oration before the hosts have welcomed you.

We would never do that.

David Farrar: Better to stimulate housing supply than demand

Chris Bishop released:

The coalition Government is investing in social housing for New Zealanders who are most in need of a warm dry home, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says.

Budget 2024 will allocate $140 million in new funding for 1,500 new social housing places to be provided by Community Housing Providers (CHPs), not Kāinga Ora, thanks to savings found by ending the First Home Grant.

JC: Maori Seats Need to Go Pronto

The Maori Party need to be gone from Parliament. Most Kiwis are fed up to the back teeth with their despicable behaviour. Their latest childish, illegal prank – to have Maori strike nationwide on Budget Day – is frankly the last straw from a mob who don’t give a damn about anyone or anything except themselves. Most of their commentary is racist, divisive and full of lies. They are not at all representative of the majority of their race, bar the racist activists and those, like themselves, who have no interest in contributing to the prosperity of this country.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Census 2023 reveals Wellington is the only city in NZ that shrunk

Census 2023 reveals Wellington is the only city in NZ that shrunk. Why drag the whole of NZ down by pouring money into its problems? Let it go.

Its official. Wellington's population shrunk between 2018 and 2023. Now most right-wing bloggers & think-tanks in NZ are based in Wellington, like Farrar's Kiwi Blog, the Tax Payers Union, NZ Initiative, and more. Though they're loudly opposed to big government spending big money to fix our country's problems, when it comes to sorting out Wellington City's problems, they're quiet. What are those problems? Where to start?

Kerre Woodham: How do we get information we need if not the Census?

We need information. To create a functioning society, there's certain information that we need to know. How many of us there are in the country for starters. How old we all are, so we know where we need to build schools and what sort of aged care we might need in the future. Roads, public transport, all that sort of stuff depends on knowing where we all are, who we all are, where we work. So many questions and so many answers needed. And since 1851, we've been getting that information via the Census.

Thursday May 30, 2024 

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Sir Bob Jones: The Maori message in simple language

A maori political party led by a cowboy hat wearing attention-seeker with a grossly disfigured, fully tattooed face, endeavoured to close down our cities today.

The underlying message of this bullshit protest can be summed up simply; specifically, “we’re (part) maoris so give us money.”

Tom O'Connor: Minds made up on Māori wards bill before it was written?

It seems that the district mayors who signed the joint Local Government New Zealand letter opposing the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill did not read or understand the bill before doing so. I wonder how many consulted their communities before signing.

Admittedly it is not an easy bill to read. But, judging by some of the political rhetoric from throughout the country, minds were made up to oppose the bill well before it was even written.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Time for a tune-up as New Zealand's economic engine sputters

When I was a university student, I noticed my car was not accelerating as smoothly as it once had. At first, I brushed it off, thinking it might just be my imagination.

It was not until I took the car for its warrant of fitness that the technician delivered the bad news: one of the engine’s four cylinders had stopped working completely.

Luckily for me, the problem was caught early enough to fix it without breaking the bank. Had I waited any longer, I might have been looking at a wrecked engine and a much bigger repair bill.

Countries can be a bit like that ageing car.

Ele Ludemann: Taking less not giving more

Ever since National talked about helping us by allowing us to keep some of our own money, critics have been vociferous in opposition.

There are so many urgent needs in core public services – education, health, infrastructure, police . . . it’s not hard to understand why they think the government needs every cent it can get.

Cam Slater: It Looks Like National Have a Problem

The latest Roy Morgan Poll should sound a warning to the Government, particularly the National Party. It is unpleasant reading but is not at all surprising given the constant media attacks on this Government.

Winston Peters: Make no mistake. Racial division is exactly what they want, not unity.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: A far-right falling out in Europe

As the European Parliament elections loom next month, a political earthquake is reshaping the landscape of the continent’s far-right. In a stunning move, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) party has abruptly severed ties with its long-time German ally, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). RN has ejected the AfD from their shared Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament.

Kerre Woodham: Debt-to-income restrictions aren't a bad idea

Fundamentally, I would have thought that limiting debt-to-income is a good idea.

The debt-to-income ratio is the ratio of your total debt —mortgage credit cards, child support payments, hire, purchase, and the like— relative to your total pre-tax income. So, for example, if you have a total debt of $500,000 and your total gross income is $80,000, your debt-to-income ratio is 6.25. It means your total debt is 6.25 of your total gross income. So, as I say, to estimate your debt-to-income ratio, start by adding up all your debt payments, any large fixed payments you simply can't afford, and divide them by your pre-tax income.

Brendan O'Neill: Rafah reminds us of the evils of Hamas

Why are so many in the West washing away Hamas’s responsibility for the Gaza catastrophe?

The anti-Israel set is right about something for once: it is unconscionable that Rafah has been turned into a warzone. It is an affront to humanity itself that a city once teeming with civilians fleeing the ravages of war elsewhere in Gaza should now be reduced to a hellish battleground. But who did this? Who was it that decided to use this former city of civilians as a launchpad for war? Who was it that posted their military commanders there, hid their ammunition there, fired their missiles from there, dragged hostages there? Who was it who hid the machinery of war among the women and children of Rafah, knowing full well bloodshed would ensue?

Ele Ludemann: Not thinking at all

Environmentalists preach that we should think global and act local.

It’s a good message but one which too often they don’t follow, in some cases they don’t appear to be thinking at all.

Demanding that New Zealand reduce livestock farming is a case in point.

Wednesday May 29, 2024 

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NZCPR Newsletter: Time for Reform

When Treasury prepared its four-yearly Long-Term Fiscal Position report in 2021, the forecasts showed that the rising cost of funding the healthcare and pensions of retirees would bankrupt New Zealand by 2061 if policies remained the same.

The problem is demography. While retirees currently number around 800,000, between 2060 and 2070 they are expected to approach 2 million. At that time, the number of workers per pensioner, will fall from around four to one today, to just two to one.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 29/5/27

Performer of a karakia in Parliament was not miffed by being muzzled – but Waititi demands reprimand

Six ministers have posted announcements on the government’s official website in the past 24 hours, two of them contributing to one media statement in the matter of the decision to support the Papua New Guinea response to the devastating landslide in Enga Province.

Three statements dealt with the passage of legislation, one dealing with immigration matters (the management of mass arrivals), another with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund’s investment opportunities, and the third to settle the Whakatōhea treaty claim.

Paul Brennan chats to Dr Muriel Newman about Budget 2024

Muriel Newman from NZCPR joins RCR to talk about the challenges the Government faces with balancing the books in Budget 2024.

Click to listen

Bryce Edwards: Parliament’s increasingly toxic ethnic identity wars

Toxicity and disinformation are becoming a big part of New Zealand politics. And much of this relates to debates about ethnicity, race, and racism.

We should all be concerned about this trend. Personal abuse, dishonesty, and contempt in the public sphere are bad for democracy, social cohesion, and the integrity of the political system.

Mike's Minute: The Budget is a scapegoat for the protest

Part of the day of upset, or protest, or whatever the Māori Party are calling it tomorrow, is about the way they feel they are being treated by this new Government.

So, although it's Budget Day, it's not really about the Budget.

It's about section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act and the right to vote if councils unilaterally invoke Māori seats and the move to replace or repeal references to the Treaty in legislation.

Frank Newman: The Letter from Mayors & Chairs

Earlier this week Local Government NZ sent a letter to the leaders of the coalition parties and Ministers Simeon Brown and Tama Potaka. It was signed by 52 local government leaders (see list appended).

The essence of the letter is this:

Our position…is that Māori wards and constituencies should be treated like all other wards and that decisions should be made at the council level. Polls aren’t required on any other wards or constituencies, and requiring them will add increased costs to councils.

Polls are not required where ward boundaries are changed, created or consolidated, because it does not change the electoral system.

That petition right was first introduced in 2001 when STV was introduced as an alternative to FPP for the 2004 and subsequent local body elections. That petition right remains today.

NZCPR Submission: Local Government Maori Ward Bill

Submissions on the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Maori Wards and Maori Constituencies) Amendment Bill close on Wednesday 29 May at 11.59pm. 

This is the Bill that reintroduces petition rights for Maori wards, to enable voters to call for a referendum so the community can decide whether they want their councils divided along racial lines.

This democratic right was, of course, abolished by the Labour Government in 2021. Through this Bill, the Coalition Government is restoring local democracy. 

We would urge anyone who supports the Bill to send in a submission saying so. Full details can be found by clicking HERE. 

Since the NZCPR strongly supports the Bill and has sent in a submission that includes two suggestions to improve the Bill, we are sharing those details below.

Alwyn Poole: Charter Schools

The most vital thing about the re-introduction of Charter Schools is that EVERYTHING is done well.

I have no doubt Chris Hipkins is the worst and most ignorant (or dishonest) Minister of Education our nation has seen. He said this on ZB last week:

“If people are concerned about kids who aren’t achieving in mainstream schooling, the area to look is alternative education and activity centres.”

Cam Slater: Scallywags? Actually, They Are More like Ratbags

The Maori Party and their proxies are upping the ante in their racist rage, promising to block motorways and roads and go on strike as part of a protest against the democratically elected Government’s policies.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: False advertising - Otago University

When will Otago University and its new Vice Chancellor, Grant Robertson, take down the False Advertising that says it is ranked in the "top 1% of World Universities".

The latest 2024 edition of QS World University Rankings features 1,500 institutions across 104 locations, and ranks Otago in 206th place (https://www.topuniversities.com/world-university-rankings) Yet Otago University explicitly claims that these QS rankings put it in "the top 1% of universities in the world". They certainly do not. When will Otago withdraw its false advertising claim? The top 1% of universities according to QS are as follows:

Geoff Parker: What are you afraid of?

Recently Taranaki Daily News published a propaganda piece titled 'Māori Wards and all the things not to be afraid of ' authored by Mr Dinnie Moeahu a New Plymouth District Councillor (at large). My responses to his piece as follows.

Graham Adams: Film-makers follow the money on ‘disinformation’ bandwagon

Web of Chaos gets a rerun on TVNZ; River of Freedom out in the cold.

If you are a film-maker looking for an injection of taxpayer cash, a pitch focused on fake news purportedly propagated by “conspiracy theorists” looks to be a good bet — as long as it is “far-right” groups who are depicted as the shadowy forces pulling the strings of a gullible New Zealand public.

The nation’s state funding agencies seem to have a voracious appetite for such politically loaded fare. In the past few years, NZ on Air, Te Māngai Pāho and the Film Commission have financed Fire and Fury, Web of Chaos, Trick or Treaty? and Jacindamania.

Nick Clark: City and Regional deals

This report, "City and regional deals", draws on the Initiative's extensive work on localism and international best practices to explore how partnerships between central and local government can empower communities to tackle their unique challenges and seize opportunities for growth.

"For too long, our councils have borne the costs of growth while the benefits flow almost entirely to central government in Wellington," says Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative. "It's no wonder many seem unwilling or unable to embrace much-needed development, reinforcing perceptions of incompetence and lack of focus."

Bruce Cotterill: New Zealand will have six million people – we need to take action to be ready

Statistics NZ announced last week that our population has now reached 5.339 million people.

For decades we said that we needed our population to be over five million. Population was cited as a solution to our economic growth and financial freedom.

A few years back, we made it through the five million population barrier. And guess what: Despite talking about it for years, we weren’t ready.

Kerre Woodham: Paid placements are not a new idea

A petition has been set up asking for students on placement to receive a stipend from the Government, because as part of their qualifications many students, like those in healthcare, social work, and education, are required to complete unpaid placements to practically apply what they've learnt. And it's a really, really good idea because quite often, the theory bears no real relation to reality. You might think you want to be a nurse, and then you're in amongst the blood and the gore and you think, ‘maybe not. Maybe not. Maybe I'll go to being a researcher, apply all that knowledge and learning to being a researcher rather than being at the grunt end of things.’ So, you need to know what you're getting yourself in for, otherwise it can be a waste of training.

Tuesday May 28, 2024 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 28/5/24

Nicola Willis brings us up to date with state service job cuts – while Tamatha Paul (is this overkill?) rails against a blood bath

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has estimated the loss of around 2500 jobs from the public sector during the cost-saving since the general election last October.

Another 1150 vacancies in Government departments have been removed from the books and 500 are expected to go, she said during the post-Cabinet press conference yesterday (the last Cabinet meeting before the release of the Budget on Thursday).

Professor Robert MacCulloch: NZ Treasury Mis-sells Wellington

NZ Treasury Mis-sells Wellington to Job Applicants using outdated Lonely Planet Data. After re-locating, they may not appreciate it.

What's gone wrong with our public institutions? The University of Otago falsely claims on the front of its website that it is "ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world" on the QS rankings. That's called mis-selling.

Mike's Minute: Time to restore standards in this country

Ricardo Menendez March and teachers.

Let me join a couple of dots. And the glue for the dots are standards, or lack of them.

If you don’t have standards you end up with teachers who can't pass NCEA Level 1, and you end up with people like March using the F-word in Parliament.

Cam Slater: Te Pati Maori ‘Mobilising a Militia of Scallywags’

The political rhetoric coming from Maori is increasingly violent in tone and attitude. Te Pati Maori are using words like revolution and images of guns, along with the beating of war drums in their online advertising.

Peter Hemmingson: Deconstructing the ‘Noble Savage’ Myth

Marxists have been pushing the Maori barrow in New Zealand since 1935, when the Communist Party of New Zealand ran in the General Election of that year on a plank which included: “Self-determination of the Māoris [sic] to the point of complete separation.”

Ever wondered why?

Ian Bradford: UK Professor says billions need to die to “save the planet.”

Just over  a week ago,  Bill McGuire, an Emeritus Professor at University College London said this:  If I am brutally honest, the only realistic way I can see emissions falling as fast as they need to, to avoid catastrophic climate breakdown is the culling of human population by a pandemic with a very high fatality rate.”

 The issue of ‘overpopulation’ is one that has been long present in the climate science community but is rarely discussed in public in the stark terms employed by McGuire.  McGuire is articulating what some in the climate alarmist camp actually believe. A view that climate change is really about overpopulation is not that uncommon among climate alarmists. 

David Farrar: Te Pāti Māori playing the race card

TPM released:

Te Pāti Māori are calling for a by-election and the establishment of an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) after the National Party’s donation botch.

Roger Childs: Book Review - Who Really Broke the Treaty?

This movement (kotahitanga /mana motuhake) to break up the country, moving towards a new form of ‘indigenous’ apartheid, is spearheaded by absurd claims of special rights supposedly set down in the Treaty of Waitangi, and false stories of harm done to Maori by colonization. John Robinson

The answer to the book’s title question has huge implications for New Zealand.

Clive Bibby: Prosperity for Maori not dependant on false interpretation of Treaty

I have lived and worked amongst some of the lowest decile Maori dominated communities in the country for the last 44 years and the message I am getting from my friends and work colleagues is that the only real barrier to future success is poor decisions made on their behalf by their own leadership. Before the Maori radicals rush to paint me as a racist and try to associate me with leadership failings that have stifled real opportunities for growth, let me tell you about the harm being done to Maoridom’s cause throughout the country simply because of infighting at the top. 

Rod Kane: Now Here Is a Conundrum

As many of you may well know I detest the media almost as much as I detest people like Willie Jackson and indeed every single Maori activist and the dumb white wokeys that support them.

The night back in 2020 when Jacinda Ardern got in I immediately cancelled my Herald subscription. The Herald is normally $4 something on a weekday and $5.20 on a Saturday – if you went down to the shop and bought it.

JC: Shane Jones Tells It Like It Is

Who would’ve thought it. Shane Jones goes to the very place where the Labour Party was founded, Blackball, and, representing a centre-right coalition government, he gets a standing ovation! This electorate is traditionally a Labour stronghold: the mighty West Coast. This should have Labour MPs faces reflecting the colour of their party but it won’t. As Shane pointed out, Labour lost interest in the working class, the hard grafters in this country, a long time ago.

Kerre Woodham: Great pre-Budget announcement for getting more people into teaching

One of the best teachers at my daughter’s intermediate school, Ponsonby Intermediate, was a former chippy-turned-teacher.

He was a great example of somebody who'd trained in one career then decided to move into another — teaching. And there's a whole bunch of kids who are very, very glad he made that choice.

Simon O'Connor: Woke approved violence ...

A troubling trajectory towards violence is evident among some segments of New Zealand society. Plus some information of a new radio show I am hosting!

When I think of the various protest, or activist, movements of late one deeply troubling observation is becoming abundantly clear - there are those in New Zealand who genuinely believe that violence is acceptable when it comes to their cause. The classic, ‘the end justifies the means’.

Monday May 27, 2024 

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Cam Slater: Guess Who Doesn’t Believe in Democracy?

You’d think that democratically elected mayors would respect democracy but it appears that they actually don’t. Fifty mayors have decided to write to the Government to tell them off for making sure that Maori wards on councils are utu to the people who are going to have to pay for them…you know, like what a democracy does.