Kerre Woodham: The phone ban is working - let's get on with banning vapes

So the Government's 'Phones Away For The Day' regulations came into force in state schools and kura at the beginning of term two. Schools must ensure students do not use or access a phone while they're attending school, including during lunch time and breaks.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the policy before the election last year and there were the typical naysayers saying that'll never work. How can you enforce it, the children need their phones to be able to contact their parents, it's going to put more pressure on teachers, and so on and so forth.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 15.9.24

Tuesday September 17, 2024 

News:
$5.8m pledged for Parihaka infrastructure upgrade
The Government has announced it will provide a $5.8 million grant to improve water infrastructure at Parihaka in Taranaki.

Regional Development Minister, Shane Jones said the grant from the Regional Infrastructure Fund will have a multitude of benefits for the hugely significant cultural site, including keeping local waterways clean and enabling new housing.

Dr Guy Hatchard: Steep Rise in Autism Cases

The UK Telegraph reports “Special education spending surges 70pc amid autism wave”. UK Department of Education figures show that the cost of supporting schoolchildren with special needs has jumped by more than two-thirds since lockdown from £6.9bn in 2018/19 to £12bn today. One in 100 UK primary schoolchildren are now entitled to formal council support as a result of autism, double the one in 200 before the pandemic.

Dr Wanjiru Njoya: The Rebellious Old Right

In The Betrayal of the American Right, Rothbard asks “how many Americans realize that, not so long ago, the American right wing was almost the exact opposite of what we know today?” Describing the American Old Right, Tom Woods explains that:

Dr Michael John Schmidt: Ideology and groupthink in our public service - certainly immoral and probably illegal.

The phrase “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” is from one of Aesop's Fables: a wolf disguises itself in a sheep’s skin to blend in with, and ultimately prey on, a flock . The story serves as a moral lesson about deceit and the danger of those who pretend to be something they are not, often to cause harm. Nowhere does the phrase apply more aptly than with “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” policies in organisations.

Jeffrey A. Tucker: Grocery Rationing within Four Years

There is a lack of public comment and debate about Kamala Harris’s call for price controls on groceries and rents, the most stunning and frightening policy proposal made in my lifetime.

Immediately, of course, people will reply that she is not for price controls as such. It is only a limit on “gouging” (which she variously calls “gauging”) on grocery prices. As for rents, it’s only for larger-scale corporations with many units.

Dave Patterson: Will Ukraine Be Allowed to Strike Targets Deep in Russia?

Taking the fight deep into Russia is crucial for stopping Moscow’s assault on Kyiv.

Ukraine may soon be cleared to use Western weapons to strike deep into Russia. It’s what the beleaguered nation needs to turn the tide of the invasion, but it has, thus far, been strictly forbidden. Why? Not since September 11, 2001, has the US government seen the results of an enemy determined to bring America to its knees. Only then did the US military go after the terrorist group responsible with a vengeance. But time passes, and memories fade.

JC: They Are a Bunch of Crocks

When it comes to political matters, the bulk of the mainstream media gave up on balanced reporting a long time ago. It’s a global phenomenon.

Well if it wasn’t obvious before, it is now. The debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris proved beyond doubt the blatant left-wing bias of most of the mainstream media. ABC television, who were hosting the debate, didn’t even try to hide the fact. They made sure the viewers knew whose side they were on. Maybe they thought we were as dumb as they are and wouldn’t notice. What a bunch of crocks. On Tuesday night the moderators (a misnomer if ever there was one) looked vile, sounded vile and in fact were vile.

Monday September 16, 2024 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 16/9/24

Just a village of 100 (or so) people – but Parihaka is a potent force when it comes to winning govt funding

The Parihaka settlement – founded about 1866 – by the end of the 1870s had a population of about 1500 and was being described as the most populous and prosperous Māori settlement in the country.

Wikipedia says it had its own police force, bakery and bank, used advanced agricultural machinery, and organised large teams who worked the coast and bush to harvest enough seafood and game to feed the thousands who came to the meetings.

Sir Bob Jones: A brilliant new appointment

Every new government makes new appointments to a wide range of agencies, for which they’re frequently (and sometimes rightly) attacked by diverse critics.

Probably the most common criticism, is the charge of “jobs for the boys”.

But one recent outstanding appointment which has been largely ignored by the media, is that of Melissa Derby, a Waikato university academic, as the new Race Relations boss.

Peter Williams: Is it a Health or a Sickness Industry?

We need to think more about prevention

Minister of Health Shane Reti made a bold statement last week.

“We’re already investing more in health than any Government in New Zealand’s history – around $30 billion a year.”

Therefore every man, woman and child is having $5660 spent on them by the government this year for their medical needs.

Mike Butler: Tribunal’s coastal conjuring

More evidence that the Waitangi Tribunal makes it up as it goes along appears in its latest blockbuster titled Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 Inquiry Stage 1 Report.

Predictably, the tribunal “found” that “the procedural and resourcing arrangements supporting the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 breached the Treaty and prejudicially affected Maori”.

Why “predictably”? The tribunal almost without exception recommends in favour of claimants and has done so for decades.

David Farrar: Another assassination attempt on Trump

CNN reports:

A person has been detained in connection to the incident at Trump International Golf Club on Sunday, according to a law enforcement source.

Secret Service fired at the suspect, according to multiple sources.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Hipkins and Former PM Ardern repeatedly said we beat the world on Covid.....

Opposition Leader Hipkins and Former PM Ardern repeatedly said we beat the world on Covid. Our World In Data Says the World is Beating Us.

Although the propaganda exercise that former Covid Minister Chris Hipkins and Former PM Ardern waged for years, and still do, in cahoots with our Mainstream Media, has convinced many Kiwis we beat the world on Covid, for a simple-minded guy like me, when you look up "Our World in Data", it tells a different story. Cumulative confirmed Covid deaths in NZ are a month away from exceeding the global average - and we're already tracking higher than Oceania, which consists of countries in our region of the world, many of them islands like us, and so which had a geographical advantage during the outbreak:

Dr Michael Bassett: Why are the loud mouths frightened about the principles of the treaty?

It’s amazing to see the energy being invested in attacks on David Seymour and ACT over the proposed bill, that no one has yet seen, on the Principles of the Treaty. Four hundred religious leaders, Radio NZ, TV, the New Zealand Herald’s Julia Gabel, the newly unhinged Matthew Hooton, the Labour Party that should know better, the seriously weird Greens, and the unintelligible Maori Party are all piling on to Seymour with arguments that vary between the specious and the absurd. It’s for a reason.

Barrie Davis: The Revised Treaty Principles Bill

The ACT Party Treaty Principles Bill promising equality for all New Zealanders has been eagerly anticipated by some. It has been suppressed by the National Party and New Zealand first, and vilified in the press which is always a good sign. But then it went terribly wrong and reinstated exclusive race based privileges – or institutionalized racism as I prefer to call it. What can we do to correct the problem?

Bronwyn Howell: The Precautionary Principle, Safety Regulation, and AI: This Time, It Really Is Different

Key Points

• Generative pretrained transformers (GPTs)—such as large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Llama—come from a different computing paradigm than do traditional “big data” artificial intelligence models.
• Traditional risk-management frameworks developed from the precautionary principle to address the risks of big data AI models (which current AI regulations are based on) are not well suited to manage GPT risks.
• Using case-based regulation for specific applications rather than generic, overarching regulation is likely a more effective way to manage GPT AI risks.

Clive Bibby: Keeping up with the Joneses

Love him or hate him (and I have had reservations at times) Shane Jones has an incredible ability to survive all the barbs and insults that appear to be part of the job as Winston’s loyal lieutenant.

Together they operate like a tag team - taking turns at blunting the criticism launched at the Government by the radical Maori Activists and anybody else who was responsible for the mess we have to clean up.

James Fite: Tax-Free Overtime – The Genius of Trump’s Anti-Tax Platform

Do Democrats dare oppose it?

Donald Trump has done it again. During a rally on Thursday, September 12, the former president announced yet another anti-tax. If elected, he promises to try to eliminate taxes on overtime pay. Hourly workers nationwide cheer that idea. Democrats call it a lie and a desperate plea for votes after a weak debate performance. But true or false, doable or not, and regardless of his motivation for making the campaign promise, there’s no denying the genius of the move.

Rebekah Barnett: Australian Government to Ban Social Media for Kids

The Australian Government is set to impose social media age limits, amid increasing concern over the effect of social media on youth mental health, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced today.

Legislation is to be introduced later this year, and is expected to gain bipartisan support after the leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, called to ban social media for under 16s earlier this year.

Michael Heberling: The environmental downside of electric vehicles

At one time, “Saving the Environment” and “Fighting Climate Change” were synonymous. That is no longer true. The quest for Clean Energy through electric vehicles (EVs) epitomizes “the end justifies the means.”

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), an electric vehicle requires six times the mineral inputs of a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle (ICE). EV batteries are very heavy and are made with some exotic, expensive, toxic, and flammable materials.

Dave Patterson: The Threats America Faces

To understand US national security, it’s necessary to know its enemies.

Threats to America are always bubbling just below the surface. When the media tries to describe national security threats, it tends to talk about isolated events – dangerous events, to be sure, but points in time that are perilous. And yet, US adversaries have a purpose and an attending crusade designed to eliminate forever what good Americans sacrificed and died for throughout the nation’s history. If the focus of the Fourth Estate and even US National Security is solely on moments and events in time, they will continue to fail to understand the most significant lesson.

Sunday September 15, 2024 

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Ian Miller: Perrottet Admits Mandates Were Wrong

Accountability for those responsible for the disasters of global governments’ handling of the Covid-19 pandemic is nearly impossible. For several reasons.

Namely, that accountability would have to come from those currently in government. Many, if not most, of whom supported the mask mandates, vaccine passports, and other absurdities inflicted on the global public. It would also require those responsible to actually acknowledge their mistakes, then take responsibility for them. How often do we see politicians or influential public figures admit that they were wrong?

Mountainside FM: NZ a broken nation

Those British who had just put an end to slavery laid down the foundations of New Zealand.

They would never have written, or agreed with, a Treaty that divided the country into two unequal races, having asserted the very opposite: that all New Zealanders were equal British subjects.

This was a precious legacy for the new nation, to be safeguarded and never taken for granted.

New Zealand has paid the price of ignorance and inactivity, allowing a determined minority to build a tribal, ‘indigenous’ and race-based division, which destroys the claim to equality and liberty of all others....


Click image to Listen

Chris Trotter: Judge Not.

FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. The second of the Ten Commandments could hardly be clearer: Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image. And yet, in their open letter to the nation’s legislators, these 440 clerics have made it equally clear that, by their adoration of te Tiriti o Waitangi, idolatry is precisely what they are guilty of. Worse still, by publicly bowing down before te Tiriti, and serving it so aggressively, they have called down upon their heads the wrath of a self-confessed “Jealous God”, whose punishments extend – even unto the fourth generation.

Then again, citing the Old Testament probably cuts little ice with these Christians. They do, after all, introduce their attack on Act leader David Seymour’s, Treaty Principles Bill with a quote from the Gospel of Matthew:

Ele Ludemann: There’s always a choice

A good upbringing doesn’t guarantee success and people can succeed in spite of a bad upbringing:

Andrew Bolt chats to David Semour about the Treaty Principles Bill, on Sky News

New Zealand Regulation Minister David Seymour says there “needs to be a debate” regarding the Treaty of Waitangi.


Click to view - Then unmute to listen

Professor Jerry Coyne: Countering objections to free speech

Greg Lukianoff is, as most of you know, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. He’s also a lawyer and co-author, with Jon Haidt, of the excellent book The Coddling of the American Mind.   Yesterday in Quillette, Lukianoff wrote a piece that many of us may find useful, outlining how to give comebacks to flimsy arguments against free speech. The advice is especially useful now that both extreme Left and extreme Right are finding reasons to curtail speech, the former through demonizing certain opinions that go against Righthink and the latter through banning or censoring books. I think the article below is free, so have a look.

John Klar: Taxing Unrealized Capital Gains and an Inflation Nexus

The 'Inflate and Tax' proposals of Kamala Harris.

Among the various new taxes proposed by Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign are increased levies on capital gains and taxation of unrealized capital gains on wealthy Americans. Given recent history, this is particularly sneaky. The Biden-Harris team sparked rapid inflation, so now the Harris-Waltz duo wants to tax the phantom inflationary gain even before citizens holding assets as a shield against inflation have disposed of them. In other words, Harris plans to tax gains that don’t yet exist, which wouldn’t be possible without the inflation exacerbated under the Biden-Harris administration.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Demystifying the state - what do you see?

Look at the cover of our new report Demystifying the State. What do you see? The image looks like a Rorschach test - those ink patterns used by psychologists. We chose this design on purpose. Just like a Rorschach test, the state means different things to different people.

Some see the state as the Prime Minister and elected government. Others think of ministerial staff and advisers. Many picture big government offices or workers like nurses, teachers and police. The truth is, the state is all of these - and more.

Dr Guy Hatchard: The New Zealand Government is Failing to Come to Terms With Reality

The New Zealand Herald story, 12 September, entitled “Health Minister Shane Reti to reveal more about health targets as officials warn of manipulation”. Dr Shane Reti says he’s not concerned (???) but can’t guarantee his five targets for the health system won’t be gamed by under-pressure health staff as his Government strives for better healthcare services. Apparently, specific targets for timely healthcare responses put hospital staff under such pressure that they can be tempted to manipulate data to make things look as though they are improving.

Ele Ludemann: Need and value

The government is putting need and value to the forefront in public services:

New Cabinet policy directives will ensure public agencies prioritise public services on the basis of need and award Government contracts on the basis of public value, Minister for the Public Service Nicola Willis says.

Saturday September 14, 2024 

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Professor Robert MacCulloch: Is NZ's Unprincipled Parliament the True Reason why Productivity Growth has Collapsed?

NZ's Parliament calls itself our "House of Representatives". That's an empty description, given we now have a sitting Member who ran on the List for the Greens, but now has been kicked out of that party. So now the member does not represent a Seat, nor a Party. How can it be a House of Representatives when it has members who represent nothing? This week it got worse.

John Porter: Does no-one care?

Does no-one care that a minority of our population is being supported, encouraged and abetted by publicly elected politicians and public servants in their quest to impose tribal rule in New Zealand?

Does no-one care that, arguably, one of the world’s best ways of life is being ruined? Ruined for all people of New Zealand.

Does no-one care that one of the world longest existing democracies is being undermined and eroded at an ever-increasing speed?

It certainly seems like it to me. 

David Lillis: Science and the New Zealand Media

Information or Misinformation?

Recently Professor Jerry Coyne wrote a piece on traditional approaches to treating dieback in Kauri trees (Coyne, 2024). Of course, the main problem here is that sometimes public money is spent on the pursuit of ideas that have little or no scientific basis, or at least have not been verified scientifically. Another issue is the possible misleading of the public at large on matters that have to do with science and education. 

Dr Bryce Edwards: Political corruption in NZ can’t be tackled with a softly, softly approach

You might not have noticed, but another report has been put out about the dangers of corruption in the New Zealand political system. Released precisely two weeks ago by Transparency International New Zealand, their research is merely the latest warning about rising corruption to be published and ignored.

Owen Jennings: Now Here’s a Funny Thing.

Airlines have trees to offset their CO2 Greenhouse Gas emissions. That’s recognised and acceptable. More than that it is encouraged and subsidised.

Farmers have grasses to offset their CH4 (methane) Greenhouse Gas emissions. That’s not recognised and it’s not acceptable. More than that, they are heavily criticised and are threatened with severe penalties.

Humans emit CO2 Greenhouse Gas. We are not penalised because we are part of a closed, natural cycle where we eat greens that are grown by photosynthesis that uses CO2. That’s IPCC policy.

Karl du Fresne: My complaint to the BSA about the use of 'Aotearoa'

On the night of August 1 I was watching Sky Open’s coverage of the Olympic Games. The presenter, Laura McGoldrick, repeatedly referred to New Zealand as Aotearoa. I found this irritating, not least because it was unsubtly making a political point in what was supposed to be a sports programme, but I wasn’t so enraged as to throw something at the TV. We have become accustomed, after all, to media people flaunting their impeccable ideological credentials by the use of Aotearoa, despite the name having no popular mandate. That’s what they’re counting on: that we’ll come to accept it as the norm – or as Jacinda Ardern once put it, that Aotearoa will be adopted “organically”. How convenient to avoid the complication of seeking formal public endorsement. 

David Farrar: The University of Austin

The University of Austin has just admitted its first intake of students. It is a new private university dedicated to free speech and free inquiry.

Here is the speech from the college president:

Hon Nicola Willis: Need and value at forefront of public service delivery

New Cabinet policy directives will ensure public agencies prioritise public services on the basis of need and award Government contracts on the basis of public value, Minister for the Public Service Nicola Willis says.

“Cabinet Office has today issued a circular to central government organisations setting out the Government’s expectations for needs-based service provision. The circular makes clear that the targeting, commissioning, and design of public services should be based on the needs of all New Zealanders.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 8.9.24

Saturday September 14, 2024 

News:
Māori Development Minister encourages govt agencies to be bilingual
On the eve of Māori Language Week beginning, Tama Potaka said he believes it’s “mis-characterising“ the position of the government by saying it wants to prioritise the English language over the Māori language.

“We want to make sure that [government agency] communication is done in the language that users know how to use and need,” the Māori Development Minister said on Stuff’s daily podcast, Newsable.

Dave Patterson: Willful Blindness Describes Disastrous Afghanistan Retreat

What happened, how it happened, and who made it happen is not a pretty story.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) released its long-awaited final report on the Biden-Harris planning and management of the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. It isn’t pretty. Though the timeframe for the US departure from Afghanistan after 20 years of conflict encompassed several presidential administrations, the failure of leadership, decision-making, and operational execution was wholly that of the Biden-Harris administration. The public hearings, transcribed interviews, and document discovery dispute any attempt to place the blame elsewhere.

Kerre Woodham: What's the point in keeping intermediate schools?

One of the emails that did come in for the Prime Minister caught my eye, and I thought, you know, this is not a silly idea. It might be. I think there's some merit and discussing it and I'd love to run it by you.

It was from the Elephant Beetle Think Tank and a quick Google found that no such thing exists, probably a couple of people enjoying a glass of wine and having chats, but none the less... it questions why we still have intermediate schools. There are 116 intermediate schools that remain within the education system, and according to the Elephant Beetle Intermediate School plan, there would be huge cost savings without the fixed costs of operating intermediates, which can be diverted into the remaining school system.

Dr Bryce Wilkinson: Spending cuts versus wealth taxes

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins has said that the Labour Party is looking at campaigning in 2026 on the need for heavier taxation. Capital gains taxes, wealth taxes and a land tax are “back on the table”.

There is indeed a longer-term fiscal issue. Treasury’s long-term projections show that the ageing population will cause unsustainable fiscal deficits if nothing is done to reduce spending or raise government revenues.

Labour’s own fiscal profligacy has brought this problem forward.

Guest Post: Ancestors and the Culture Clash

A Guest Post by Sisyphus posted on The Goodoil

For an upcoming university course, one of the requirements is a stay on a local marae in order to get properly acquainted with Māori culture. None of us in the course are ourselves Māori, yet we must fulfill this requirement to pass.

One of the main requirements is that we perform a mihi. Which, if you don't know, has you list out a number of things, including your spiritual mountain, river, boat (which your family brought to NZ), tribe and a number of other things, ending with your name.

John MacDonald: Is it time to end the ACC freeride for tourists?

This is not the first time I’ve said this, but we are the people’s republic of pushovers, aren’t we? The way we give overseas visitors free ACC cover.

Even more so when you consider the news that ACC wants to increase its levies by two or three times the rate of inflation over the next three years because it's taking longer and costing more for people to recover from their injuries.

Peter Dunne: Wellington in decline

Back in 2013 then Prime Minister Sir John Key raised the ire of Wellingtonians when he told a Takapuna business audience that “Wellington is dying, and we don't know how to turn it around. All you have there is government, Victoria University and Weta Workshop.” His comments provoked such outrage in the capital that he was quickly forced to “unreservedly apologise” for any offence he had caused, adding “Wellington's an extremely vibrant place; there's lots of things happening here, lots of activity “and “I should have chosen my words better.”

Friday September 13, 2024 

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Mike's Minute: The ideology for our cities will never be reality

Is it possible one of the great mistakes of the modern era has been made around our cities?

There are increasing areas of life in which the theory, the promise, or the dream is not only not coming to pass, but it's possible it never will

Shane Jones: Maori are not in jail because of colonisation

Shane Jones discusses Maori incarceration during question time at Parliament

Click to view

Jillaine Heather: The BSA must remember, censorship is a cure worse than the disease.

Harm is what the BSA report claims occurs when free expression isn’t properly regulated, but what does ‘harm’ mean? Well, you tell me. No definition is given.

If you read the Op-Ed in Stuff this week from the CEO of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, Stacey Wood, you may also find it hard to see it as anything other than an extremely condescending view of minorities.

David Farrar: Vance on Labour’s CGT obsession

Andrea Vance writes:

The polls might show support for the broad idea of taxing excess profits and capital gains, but when you dig into detail on asset classes, like shares and property, that diminishes.

It’s an aspiration paradox: people vote for the wealth they want rather than the lifestyle they have.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Treaty of Waitangi legal "experts"....

Treaty of Waitangi legal "experts", in particular judges, have misunderstood its economic rationale, endangering national prosperity in the process.

The underlying aim of the Treaty of Waitangi, at least in economic terms, was to promote a higher standard of living for Māori and non-Māori alike. This article's purpose is to argue how its words were unambiguously designed to achieve that purpose, but have since been hijacked by political operatives and NZ's legal profession, ruining its original intent.