Mike's Minute: How does Labour deal with the Māori party?

Back to the review of the last election result we mentioned this week from the political brains trust at Victoria University.

Just to remind you, they analysed our votes, our issues, and our voting intentions and, and as a result, what sort of mandate they thought the current Government has.

My point was they overthought the whole thing, given we only have one vote and it doesn’t specifically buy a lot, or guarantee any sort of outcome, or even influence.

Geoffrey Miller: NZ’s breakthrough free trade deal with the Gulf

New Zealand’s new free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council is a major win for both sides.

Todd McClay, New Zealand’s trade minister, announced the long-awaited deal on Thursday with his counterparts in Doha, Qatar. It is a remarkable, yet also surprising sudden success: the genesis of the agreement lies in talks that began in 2006.

David Farrar: ERO on chronically absent students

An excellent report by the ERO on chronically absent students, being this who are absent for more than three weeks every term. So this isn’t kids who have a week off for sickness, or a week off on an overseas holiday. It is kids who are attending less than 70% of the time – missing 12 weeks a year.

Some key details:

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The Mike King debate has turned political

I'm not altogether surprised that Mike King’s comments on this show yesterday have sparked a debate.

The reason I'm not surprised is because some of what he said is factually wrong.

King claimed alcohol wasn't a problem for people with mental health issues - but rather, a solution.

David Farrar: No we shouldn’t ban Candace Owens

The Herald reports:

Young Labour has published an open letter urging the Government to follow Australia’s lead and stop Candace Owens entering the country.

Dr Don Brash: How are they going?

It is just over a year since last year’s general election, and nearly a year since the new coalition Government was formed. How are they going?

When I speak to Rotary Club audiences and similar, I talk about the five big challenges facing New Zealand:

Breaking Views Update: Week of 27.10.24

Friday November 1, 2024 

News:
Gang Crackdown: Māori leaders push back on police tactics, rhetoric over Mongrel Mob raids
Iwi leader Willie Te Aho has slammed police tactics for the trauma left on children having to watch their parents arrested after orchestrated raids on Mongrel Mob homes in Auckland, Taupo, Wellington and Bay of Plenty resulted in 28 arrests and 99 drugs charges.

“No more will we tolerate this.”

Centrist: Richard Prebble’s Waitangi Tribunal appointment sparks criticism....

Richard Prebble’s Waitangi Tribunal appointment sparks criticism, but what about the existing bias?

Clash over political bias on Waitangi Tribunal

Is attacking Richard Prebble’s appointment to the Waitangi Tribunal—like Labour MP Willie Jackson calling it a “kick in the guts” for Māori—actually about preserving the favourable political environment that the former Labour government had orchestrated for Māori activists?

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Why it’s dangerously misguided to ignore threat of new axis

Having worked at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney from 2008 to 2012, I know how inspirational the think tank’s annual Consilium conference can be. Last week’s gathering on the Gold Coast certainly was, not least because of a remarkable speech by historian Sir Niall Ferguson.

I first met Ferguson in 2010, and our paths have crossed many times since at conferences across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Now based at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, he has established himself as one of the world’s leading historians.

Kerre Woodham: When did parents stop wanting more for their kids?

When did parents stop wanting more for their kids? The figures out today are absolutely appalling and paint a grim future for thousands of young New Zealanders. People aged 16-24 who are on the main benefit can expect to stay there for 20.4 years. I suppose we'll take the good news where we find it – that's down from 21.3 years. But good Lord, what a miserable existence for so many young people and what a shocking waste of potential. Young beneficiaries are more likely to have lower skill levels, more casual employment arrangements and high level of employment in low paid industries.

JC: Where There Is Smoke There Is Fire

The whole thing stinks on a number of levels.

And so it has proven: the Labour Party continues to hide or obfuscate the truth or quite simply just tell porkies. These people continuously back up my previous description where I used the words ‘low-level intelligentsia’. They continue to display the same behaviour that got them thrown out of office. It appears they are either very slow learners or think they can get away with it. Probably both.

Ele Ludemann: Labour hasn’t learned

Labour says it’s been listening. That may be true but when the first big policy musing from its leader Chris Hipkins is about adding another tax it demonstrates it hasn’t learned.

One of the reasons the party lost last year’s election was because it spent too much while taking the country and its its services backwards.

Peter Dunne: Volunteer firefighters

The 146th Annual General Meeting and conference of the United Fire Brigades Association will take place in Christchurch this weekend. The United Fire Brigades Association is one of New Zealand’s largest voluntary organisations, and over 600 delegates will attend the weekend’s events.

Thursday October 31, 2024 

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