Bob Edlin: Marama Davidson focuses on social inequality.....

Marama Davidson focuses on social inequality, but other factors come into NZ’s poor productivity performance

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson has a somewhat simplistic view of productivity, as she demonstrated in Parliament yesterday.

At question time, she asked:

Breaking Views Update: Week of 9.3.25

Saturday March 15, 2025 

News:
Auckland University Māori student centre opens, Act raises concerns over segregation
The opening of He Āhuru Mōwai and similar separate spaces for Māori students has been labelled segregation by Act, which is are concerned about the direction of New Zealand’s academic institutions.

Roger Partridge: Economic warfare and diplomatic folly - The US-Canada crisis

President Trump promised to drain the swamp, fight bureaucratic overreach, and defend American interests. His policies resonated with voters.

But his treatment of Canada, America’s closest neighbour, defies rational explanation.

Kevin: The Great Trillion Dollar Wealth Transfer

There’s a pecul8arly flawed logic behind the widely held view that the Baby Boomers will seamlessly transfer tens of trillions of dollars of their wealth to the Gen-X and Millennial generations as they exit stage left.

This is flawed for a very basic reason: the extremely overvalued assets that will be transferred – real estate and stocks – only reached such extreme overvaluation because there is a surplus of buyers who are sufficiently wealthy (and willing) to pay bubble-inflated prices.

David Farrar: On clinical need, not ancestry....

Bowel cancer screening should be based on clinical need, not ancestry

Simeon Brown announced:

Mike's Minute: The Investment Summit looks like a winner

I suppose technically it is only halfway through, with today still to go, but the Investment Summit looked good to me on day one.

There seems no doubt that a lot of people with a lot of money turned up and some of them spoke of their desire to bid for projects.

The Prime Minister, who needs some runs, I think has some and he hasn’t even left for India.

Friday March 14, 2025 

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Philip Crump: Greenland’s Election: A Pivot Amid Trump's Shadow and a Melting Arctic

Another week brings another election that was dominated by America’s fast-changing approach to foreign policy and the established world order. This week it was Greenland’s turn to decide how it would deal with the demands of President Trump.

Once known as the world’s largest island, cloaked in snow and shadowed by isolation, Greenland has long grappled with the burdens of its geography. High rates of alcoholism, rooted in the stark realities of long, dark winters and a population of just 57,000 spread across vast, rugged terrain, have marked its social fabric. Yet today, the thawing Arctic ice is posing new challenges for its people.

Dave Patterson: Is Peace in Ukraine at Hand?

One down. One to go. Ukraine has agreed to a ceasefire. It’s over to Russia now. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has moved the peace football into the red zone. Saudi Arabian leader Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted the US and Kyiv delegations on March 11 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to hash out a peace framework, where the four-hour conference charted a path to negotiate the way ahead.

Ukraine Responded Positively

Cam Slater: Could Nicola Willis replace Luxon?

Labour seem to think that the public believe Nicola Willis is a cross between Cruella de Vil and Miranda Priestly of The Devil Wears Prada. They can’t believe that she would do any better than Christopher Luxon as National leader, but they need to get out of their echo chamber a little more and listen to what voters actually think.

Wasting money on dumb projects is a sacred cow that Labour will defend to the last, whether it is the incomprehensibly expensive ferry project, the endlessly increasing public service staffing levels or overpaid, useless bureaucrats working from home when people with real jobs have to go to work.

Ele Ludemann: Bias replaces balance

Day after day the media has stories focusing on problems with the taxpayer funded school lunches.

Some of the problems are real and need to be solved.

Some show some children are fussy and fussy children aren’t hungry.

Barrie Davis: Principle of Sovereignty Proposition

I expect Breaking Views readers are alarmed at the reason Richard Prebble gave for his resignation from the Waitangi Tribunal. After reading the Tribunal’s restricted ten-year strategic plan, he understood that the Tribunal will pursue economic equality for Maoris. Prebble claimed that is an impossible socialist objective which will result in endless claims to the Tribunal. He also claimed that its judges and members are turning the Tribunal into a constitutional court answerable to no one.

Barrie Saunders: Why are we recycling retirees?

The appointment of semi-retired Brian Roche as Public Service Commissioner, has raised more than eyebrows of the Integrity Institute concerned about possible conflicts of interest. For those unaware Brian has had a stellar career mostly in the private sector but has undertaken numerous government roles.

Rebekah Barnett: Australia’s Covid Response Caused Significant Harm, Yet Another Official Report Finds

Five years on from the declaration of a global pandemic, I’m weary of Covid inquiries. They tend to go either of two ways. They either run through bureaucratic checkboxes and give everyone a medal for having locked down the fastest and vaccinated the most. Or, they spend months reviewing submissions and focus group transcripts to come to very obvious conclusions, like “closing schools for prolonged periods is damaging for kids” or “people don’t trust public health authorities if you attempt to force everyone to take an over-hyped vaccine“.

DTNZ: Amazon rainforest bulldozed to host climate summit on “protecting the environment”

A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built in preparation for the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil.

While the state government promotes the project as a “sustainable” infrastructure improvement, conservationists and locals are shocked by its environmental and social consequences.

Peter Dunne: School lunches

The school lunches debacle is a classic example of what happens when social policy projects lose sight of their original objectives.

When the school lunches scheme was established in 2018 the intention was to provide a healthy lunch to those students who because of their circumstances might be going without lunch altogether at school – which would be having a negative effect on their learning – or whose lunches were inadequate and non-nutritious. It aimed to build on more localised programmes that had been run by voluntary agencies like KidsCan over the years.

Andrew Bydder: When Staff Massage the Data

Elected councillors or MPs are easily manipulated by local or central government staff because the staff provide the information that guides decision making. Selective data, even falsified data, can dictate outcomes.

The same applies to the general public. PR spin on public consultation is used to guide people towards the desired outcome. Staff don’t want your opinion: they want your votes on the survey to justify their predetermined decision.

They don’t consult you: they insult you.

Ele Ludemann: Another winter power shortage?

Higher prices and a potential winter power shortage are looming:

. . . After low rainfall in January and February hydro lakes are much lower than they usually would be this time of year. While it’s not setting off alarm bells yet, it’s not ideal.

Transpower chief executive James Kilty says fortunately there’s still plenty of time for things to change.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Famous US Economists are Looking like Hypocrites & Fools....

Famous US Economists are Looking like Hypocrites & Fools with their Attacks on Trump's Policies. NZ Labour is Secretly being Advised by them.

Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, who has visited NZ and has a close relative living here, and secretly advised our Labour Party during the Ardern era, wrote a best-selling book called, "Globalization and Its Discontents" in 2002. It argued that globalization had hurt many low income workers. Meanwhile, another famous American economist, Harvard Professor Danii Rodrik, wrote a follow-up book called "The Globalization Paradox" in 2011 arguing for a leaner global system "that puts national democracies front and center". It warned of "pushing economic globalization beyond the boundaries of institutions that regulate, stabilize, & legitimize markets. Hyper-globalization in trade & finance, intended to create seamlessly integrated world markets, has torn domestic societies apart". Both Stiglitz & Rodrik wrote their books before Trump became President.

Mike's Minute: We are open to the world – it's about time

Well, here we go and welcome to International Investment day.

I found it somewhat bewildering, if not sad, that Ginny Andersen on this show yesterday said foreign investment wasn’t the answer to our problems.

Because, actually, it is.

Thursday March 13, 2025 

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Sean Plunket: What Is The Māori Economy?

Sean Plunket gives his views on the so-called Maori economy

Click to view

Gary Judd KC: National Party Dodging Difficult Issue

Too timid (or woke) to act. Too cowardly to say they won't act.

On 17 April 2024 I lodged my complaint about the Tikanga Regulations. On 17 February 2025 I tried again. I believe my further submission was before the Regulation Review Committee on 5 March. The Committee has been silent since it heard oral submissions last October. The Committee is chaired by Labour’s David Parker. It has another Labour MP and three National MPs.

Dr Eric Crampton: A pragmatic step toward congestion charging

It isn’t the congestion charging scheme that I would have most-preferred.

But the best congestion charging scheme is the one that can get across the line and enjoy durable political support, so long as it can work.

And what the government proposed this week is eminently workable. It can be improved upon as technology advances. And it can help inform future transport planning.

First, a minor refresher.

Bob Edlin: Matauranga Maori

Matauranga Maori: Govt science advisers want your thoughts on its management and funding in our public research system

The Science System Advisory Group is calling for submission on the role of matauranga Maori in government research policy.

The group, led by Sir Peter Gluckman, is seeking public opinions on how research involving the study of or the application of Mātauranga Māori should be managed and funded.

David Farrar: US pressure to increase defence spending

Stuff reports:

The Trump administration is pushing Australia to commit to a dramatic increase in defence spending to counter China’s rise, with one of the US president’s top Pentagon picks calling for military spending to rise to at least 3% of gross domestic product.

Andrew Hoggard: Why treaty bill is still relevant

Last month marked the beginning of the political year, beginning with Waitangi Day.

This placed ACT's Treaty Principles Bill front and centre and understandably it was the topic of many conversations. In parallel the select committee process began in Wellington.

Ian Wishart: RNZ caught publishing misinformation

State broadcaster RNZ News has been caught publishing blatant climate change misinformation, after their top climate reporter and RNZ’s CEO chose to hide key data from listeners that would have shown her work was faulty.

Eloise Gibson last month published a story, originally headlined “Hamilton’s run of hot days shatters previous record”, which claimed that Hamilton in the previous 11 days had likely just experienced its longest stretch of hot days since temperature records began.

Philip Crump: Mark Carney - Canada's Unelected PM

In many ways, Mark Carney becoming the Canadian Prime Minister is a very conventional appointment given his stellar credentials and global ambition. But the means by which he secured the Premiership hinges on a curious constitutional glitch that originates from Westminster.

On Sunday, the Liberal Party of Canada elected Carney as its leader in a landslide, with 85.9% of the vote, paving the way for him to succeed Justin Trudeau, who resigned in January amid cratering approval ratings.

Dr Eric Crampton: An age of prosperity gives way to the time of monsters

Late last year, online newsmagazine The Spinoff asked the usual suspects for their one-sentence summary of the year ahead.

I stole a line from Gramsci, or at least a paraphrased version of it. Translations vary, and I don’t read Italian. “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.”

Sir Bob Jones: The way we are

I’ve come to the conclusion that humanity can be divided into two categories.

First and by far the largest group are those who largely accept the world as they find it. They might occasionally grumble about some things but will do absolutely nothing about them.

Bob Edlin: Some payments to southern iwi are kept under wraps....

Some payments to southern iwi are kept under wraps while Marlborough Council unwraps a fund which favours ties with iwi

While PoO has kept an eye on the funding deals which Beehive ministers are fond of establishing or replenishing, we are not oblivious to the dosh which is provided by local authorities.

Two examples have been drawn to our attention in recent days.

JC: A Meeting to End a War Started One

At least of words. I will try and give some balance to this article. Not the easiest of tasks but here goes.

The meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky did not go as expected. Depending on your point of view it could be said Trump came across as a bully, that Zelensky gave as good as he got and the fact that the meeting didn’t go well was the fault of one or the other.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Would Elon Musk get a fail in Monetary Economics by Milton Friedman?

As much as I admire much of what Elon Musk stands for, amusingly he's now getting into economics in a big way. Seems its a hobby for him, when he's not launching rockets. Its related to his new role as boss of the Department of Government Efficiency (or "Doge"). On that note, with President Trump sitting next to him, he gives us a mini-lecture on monetary economics. It starts off, "Provided the economy grows faster than the money supply .. and the output of real useful goods and services exceeds the increase in the money supply .. then you have no inflation". Is this correct?

Mike's Minute: What we've learnt from the Treaty Bill submissions

We should give a shout out, or at least take a few moments, to read Lyric Wairiri-Smith's account of the Treaty Principles Bill submissions.

She works for The Spinoff, and she sat through virtually all of the 80 hours of submissions and cast a series of observations by way of a “50 things I learned” list.

The 37th thing she learned was the lack of media interest.

 Wednesday March 12, 2025 

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Clive Bibby: The Sugarbag Years

I once read a book called the “Sugarbag Years” by Tony Simpson.

It was a collection of personal interviews of people who had experienced real poverty in this country during the Depression of the early 1930s. 

Those evidence based testimonies probably epitomised the opinions of those involved in the nationwide movement that lead to the election of the First Labour Government and the welfare reforms that followed. And subsequently, a greatful nation continued to re-elect Labour for successive terms until the public mood changed after the ill judged “Wharfies strike” in 1951.

Richard Prebble: Misunderstandings and the Treaty

Arguments about the meaning of words is causing the message of the Treaty to be lost

Dame Anne Salmond says that anyone who does not speak te reo who opines on the Treaty of Waitangi should be regarded as “a lunatic or a fool”.

Professor Sir Hugh Kawhāru has translated the te reo version of the Treaty back into English.

Article Three translates as:

Roger Partridge: The Wilful Blindness of Putin’s Apologists

Some see Ukraine’s fight as a defining battle for freedom. Others dismiss it as a reckless provocation. This divide is not just academic. It has profound consequences – and not just for Ukraine. My recent column in Quadrant, “A Feckless President’s Betrayal,” argues that US President Donald Trump’s approach to the war in Europe has betrayed Ukraine, its Western allies and America itself. The column sparked intense debate. Online comments from some readers echoed pro-Putin arguments advanced by American economist Jeffrey Sachs – and the Kremlin’s own talking points.

Graham Adams: Fear and loathing grips the left over NZME shake-up

As a range of commentators on the left of politics pop up to denounce James Grenon’s proposed NZME board takeover, the objections by E tū director Michael Wood seem particularly hypocritical. 

In a press release last week, the head of the journalists’ union complained the Canada-born billionaire had a clear agenda to use NZME for his own interests. “[He] clearly wants to use his financial clout to steer the editorial direction of one of New Zealand’s largest and most important media networks.”

Bob Edlin: Asians could make a case for special governance arrangements....

Asians could make a case for special governance arrangements in Auckland – but they don’t have a treaty

A report with a very curious opening sentence was posted on the RNZ website at the weekend.

It kicked off:

JD: It Is a Public Service Defence Strategy

Guest post on The Good Oil by JD

Back in the day I ran one of the larger sales forces in Australasia in one of the most competitive of industries: Office Equipment. And if you think loan sharks, used-car salesmen and the parliamentary wing of Te Pāti Māori are the best exemplars of fanatical, self-interested aggression, you’ve never seen a pack of OE salespeople chasing down a photocopier order. But I digress.

JC: This Racism Has Got Out of Hand

Racism is rearing its ugly head everywhere, especially where where it’s not needed. It is threatening to dominate our lives whether privately or in the workplace. There are far too many woke busybodies around who deem it their business to lecture the rest of us as to how we should live, think or go about our business. Wokeness is particularly noticeable amongst certain generations of politicians. This particular affliction appears to be most discernible in the generations under the age of 50.

Yvonne van Dongen: Lies Gender Activists Tell

International Women’s Day (March 8) came and went without fanfare. No parade, no fawning media and nary a mention by any major political party except New Zealand First. The Prime Minister will happily celebrate Pride week/month/whatever, welcome Ramadan in a personal video but not a word for half the world’s population.

Is that what happens when we lose the definition of what a woman is? We also lose visibility, relevance, political clout?

Professor Robert MacCulloch: The Billion dollar Dilworth Charitable Trust Should be Wound Up...

The Billion dollar Dilworth Charitable Trust Should be Wound Up and the Funds Paid to Sexual Abuse Victims.

This article I wrote is in the Herald today. It's dedicated to the children who fell victim to sexual abuse at Dilworth College over more than half a century. It was sent to the Herald on my behalf by the University's Media Adviser, after being fact-checked. Truth be told, NZ Universities do believe in free speech and do support us to write such articles.

Mike's Minute: Is the public service sabotaging the govt?

My long-held suspicion, oft produced for the Prime Minister on Tuesdays, that the public service might well be working against the Government seems to have been laid bare in the Deloitte report into the failed health system.

As you will be aware, we are going back to a board from a commissioner.

Tuesday March 11, 2025 

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Cam Slater: What Luxon’s Poll Numbers Mean for National MPs

The terrible preferred PM poll for Christopher Luxon is a leading indicator of a fall in the polls for National. If the public don’t like the leader, then they will vote for another party – no matter what the policies. It happened to Andrew Little, so he quit. It happened to Simon Bridges so he got rolled. It will happen to National before the election unless Luxon discovers how to appeal to voters.

Ele Ludemann: An argument for monarchy

American visitors were intrigued by the fact that our head of state is King Charles.

”Why would you put up with an unelected leader who lives just about as far away from your country as you can get?”

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Inability to understand te reo Māori does not prevent people from asking questions about race relations in New Zealand

Dame Anne Salmond recently wrote a column on Newsroom berating people for having views on the Treaty of Waitangi when they cannot even read the Māori version of the treaty.

So, what she is saying is that even when customs, laws or treaties impinge on your daily life, you cannot hold any views on these matters if you are unable to read the relevant documents in their original form.

Ani O'Brien: Reports of the death of Whānau Ora are greatly exaggerated

If the sum total of one’s knowledge about Whānau Ora, the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA), and John Tamihere’s web of organisations was informed by the news reports this morning on government contracts, one would think that the Government had no reasons to put the contracts out to tender, no reason to have concerns about perceptions of integrity at existing agencies, and have given the contracts to a bunch of white blokes in suits.

Ramesh Thakur: Trump’s Ukraine policy changes the World Order

With President Donald Trump’s re-election and his well-known views, Europe and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky faced an in-tray from hell.

Yet, their shock is more an indictment of their impuissance than any perfidy by Trump. The more interesting question is: Will this awaken Europe from its strategic slumber?

Michael Reddell: On the way ahead

In my post last Thursday I offered some thoughts on changes that should be initiated by the government in the wake of the Governor’s surprise resignation. (Days on we still have no real explanation as to why he just resigned with no notice, disappearing out the door and (eg) leaving his international conference in the lurch, but this post is entirely forward looking.) Here I want to elaborate on three points, having benefited from a few days to reflect and a few useful conversations/exchanges:

Philip Crump: The Rise and Rise of Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage’s political odyssey is a testament to defiance, disruption, and relentless reinvention delivered with a dash of British eccentricity.

From a lone wolf railing against the vast bureaucracy of the EU in the European Parliament to the architect of Brexit and now the leader of the Reform Party, Farage has morphed from fringe agitator to a force challenging the Conservatives for the title of Her Majesty’s Opposition.

Kerre Woodham: Does everyone have their price?

The Government's not here to shag spiders, is it? It's planning to turbocharge its fast-track regime, speeding up the process to acquire private land for major infrastructure projects, and they intend to do that in part by offering cold, hard cash. Sweeteners or “premium payments” will be offered to private landowners, whose land is acquired under this new accelerated process.