David Farrar: Government moves to strengthen free speech on campus

Penny Simmonds announced:

Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities.

“Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse approach,” Ms Simmonds says.

Tim Wikiriwhi: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill - submission

Public Submission.
To the committee.

Hello.

My name is Tim Wikiriwhi.
I am a father, grandfather, a Christian Libertarian, and a Kiwi of both Maori and Pakeha descent.
Te Arawa is my Iwi.

Graham Adams: Storm clouds gather over Tamihere's fiefdom

A likely reduction in Whānau Ora funding rattles Te Pāti Māori.

Alongside the woes crowding in on John Tamihere’s Waipareira Trust — including the report into Manurewa Marae due at the end of January and news that the Charities Services intends to deregister the trust over political donations — there has been a largely unremarked move by the Ministry of Māori Development / Te Puni Kōkiri to reopen tenders for Whānau Ora cash.

The news broke in late June, and clearly came as a bombshell to Tamihere, whose organisations have long been recipients of taxpayer money.

Mark Angelides: An Elegy for the Fourth Estate

The Fifth Estate rises.

With 2024 in the rearview mirror and 2025 just begun, perhaps a moment of reflection is warranted for the not-so-sudden demise of the formerly vaunted Fourth Estate. Its position atop the cultural landscape has been rejected by much of the Western world, and it exists now as an artifact that resides in nostalgia more than zeitgeist. It was an avoidable self-immolation. But what will rise from the ashes? And will the fresh phoenix be any better?

Dr Frederick Attenborough: New Hate Crime Laws in Ireland Came Into Force on December 31st

The provisions of the new Irish ‘hate crime’ law come into effect yesterday after Minister for Justice Helen McEntee signed a commencement order, the Department of Justice has said.

The Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 was passed by the Oireachtas in October and introduces harsher sentences for crimes where the perpetrator is motivated by hatred of people with protected characteristics.

Gary Moller: The Market Demands Organics....

The Market Demands Organics and Rejects GM Food, Drugs, and Chemical-Based Food Production

New Zealand is best going organic because the world is demanding safe, healthy food. Health-conscious and discerning consumers are increasingly opposing genetically modified (GM) foods. You do not have to look far to see that organic products have a powerful and growing global following.

David Farrar: Should we have a referendum on the country’s name?

A Kiwiblog reader writes in:

Let’s Identify New Zealand.

In an attempt to heal (for some, the wound is too deep) the current division in the country.

The government could ditch the Principles bill and replace it with a referendum on the official name of the country. Apparently there is no official name of the Country.

Friday January 3, 2025 

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Ele Ludemann: Universities should be elite

Canterbury University Associate Professor Mike Grimshaw writes of a crisis in education:

It’s the end of year marking season in NZ universities and it’s evident that something has gone badly wrong in our schools over the past couple of years.

Far too many students are now entering university lacking the basic literacy skills to succeed. Their ability to read at a tertiary level has been steadily dropping for a decade, but recently there has been a very worrying drop off in their writing ability.

Josh Stylman: Read Between the Lies - A Pattern Recognition Guide

When Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, announced during Event 201’s pandemic drill in 2019 that they would “flood the zone with trusted sources,” few understood this preview of coordinated narrative control. Within months, we watched it unfold in real time—unified messaging across all platforms, suppression of dissent, and coordinated narrative control that fooled much of the world.

David Farrar: Te Pati Maori promise retrospective legislation

Te Pati Maori have written to organisations saying that if they are part of a Labour-led Government, they will pass retrospective legislation to punish organisations for actions that were entirely legal.

Dr Don Brash: Time to submit on the Treaty Principles Bill fast running out

This Parliament is being asked to pass a significant number of important Bills during the course of its three-year life – Bills related to resource management planning, to infrastructure, to education and to health. But few Bills are of greater significance than the Treaty Principles Bill which David Seymour has sponsored.

Why? Because it goes to the very heart of our constitution. And there are only days left in which to express your opinion: submissions on the Bill close at 11.59 p.m. next Tuesday, 7 January.

Maryanne Demasi: Australia’s Misinformation Bill Is Dead…for Now

It is official.

The Australian government’s attempt to ram through legislation to combat misinformation online has been blocked after the Greens party announced it would not support the controversial bill.

“We are concerned this bill doesn’t actually do what it needs to do when it comes to stopping the deliberate mass distribution of false and harmful information,” said Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

Centrist: Record Boxing Day sales amid mounting financial pressure

Boxing Day sales were up by 13% this year, with New Zealanders spending nearly $68m. This is in contrast to subdued pre-Christmas activity, which dropped nearly 1% compared to 2023. Shoppers hit up bookshops, clothing stores, and hardware outlets, according to payment processor Worldline.

JC: The Left in Full Flight

If proof is needed the political left haven’t learnt then here it is. What is wrong with these people and what goes on inside their heads?

The chief advisor to the Democrats, a lady who raised billions for the party courtesy of wealthy donors, was called a whore by the party. She is of Asian heritage and they have asked for her to be deported. She has had enough and is now leaving the party to join a team where, in her own words, “Men are men and women are women and where men don’t get to take part in women’s sports.”

David Farrar: Will Hipkins take responsibility for the ferries?

Liam Hehir points out:

You might think the decision to cancel the so-called mega ferries for New Zealand’s Cook Strait was a mistake. Reasonable people can disagree on whether the new government’s pivot to smaller, more affordable vessels was the right call. But one thing should be clear: the situation was the Hospital pass from Hell

Thursday January 2, 2025 

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David Farrar: Stuff refusing to run ads on the Treaty

Hobson’s Pledge reports:

We attempted to book the Sunday Star Times, The Post, the Christchurch Press, and The Southland Times. It would have been a tidy sum of money for the financially beleaguered media outlet…

Our ad was very simple. Just words on a page communicating what is at the heart of the debate – equal rights. Vote for the Bill for equal rights. Say no to the Bill, say no to equal rights.

Dr Don Brash: House prices in 2025 - Up or down?

On the last day of 2024, the New Zealand Herald ran an article under the heading “House prices start to rise”. The first sentence quoted OneRoof, an organisation owned by the publishers of the New Zealand Herald and specializing in promoting house sales, stating that “OneRoof’s latest monthly house price index shows prices are starting to climb again.”

While the article acknowledges that in some parts of the country house prices remained subdued in 2024, the entire emphasis of the article is that because house prices have started to move higher in some areas this would be a great time to buy.

Caleb Anderson: Are we experiencing a second counter-reformation?

A very specific (and often fraught) conflict around the nature of the social order significantly characterized medieval and early modern Europe.  Not alone a conflict between church and state, as for much of the past these were largely one, but by a conflict that had to do with rights and entitlements.

The Magna Carta, signed at Runnymede in 1215, quite radically instantiated the notion, new to most everyone at the time, that the rights of those that governed (King and Pope) ought to be bounded.

Joe Baron: Labour’s New National Curriculum Will Mean Even More Children are Taught to Hate Our Country

Children are already being brainwashed in many of Britain’s schools. They are taught to despise their country and hold it responsible for every global injustice and societal ill in existence. Labour’s changes to the national curriculum will simply add rocket fuel to this already widespread development.

Dr Peter Winsley: Submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill

I support the Bill, despite its weaknesses.

For expositional clarity, in my submission I use the term “te Tiriti” rather than “the Treaty.” This acknowledges that about 540 rangatira signed te Tiriti versus about 39 who signed the English language document.

Context is important.

JC: Cooking Books the Edmonds’ Way

If you think you are about to read about recipes from the latest Edmonds cookbook, you are sadly mistaken. This is not so much about a cookbook as cooking the books. The subject is someone by the name of Edmonds but there the similarities end.

The Edmonds in question is Barbara; the best option Labour has to masquerade as opposition finance minister. To give Barbara her due she does have experience in tax law and tax policy. She studied law at Auckland University and then took a position with Inland Revenue in Wellington doing tax policy.

Eliora: A Mere Blip in History?

Akin to a cult. However, the scale of the event is unprecedented – in the tens of millions. Literally all of civil society throughout the developed world became Jonestown but without the charismatic leader and without the coercion of armed men. - Toby Rogers PhD.

The year 2024 has drawn to a close. There are those who never dare to reflect. It may be far too regretful to dwell on the past few years and their personal involvement in it. Thinking about what happened engenders too much anxiety.

David Farrar: National Library should not censor

Stuff reported:

A renowned Auckland University of Technology historian has cancelled an upcoming speech at the National Library of New Zealand, after claims they tried to censor what he was going to say.

Professor Paul Moon was set to give a lecture in February 2025 on British policy leading up to the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi.

Wednesday January 1, 2025 

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Ele Ludemann: And the awards go to:

And the awards go to:

The When too Safe Becomes Ridiculous award goes to the directive for Santa’s helpers on Christmas parade floats to wear seat belt.

The These aren’t Sunset Industries award goes to the food and fibre sector which once again is showing its strength and resilience, and is set to break records.

The Get a Dictionary award goes to all those critics who accuse the government of austerity.

David Farrar: More ski field corporate welfare

Newsroom reports:

Cabinet has endorsed an ownership bid for the Whakapapa ski field and has agreed to loan Whakapapa Holdings up to $5 million to support its purchase.

The funding is conditional on Whakapapa Holdings obtaining a concession from the Department of Conservation to operate in the Tongariro National Park.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 29.12.24

Wednesday January 1, 2025 

News:
Porirua based iwi Ngati Toa Rangatira, has retaken ownership of Kapiti and Mana islands from the Crown
The Crown has vested ownership of both islands as part of their 2014 Te Tiriti settlement, ten years after it was enacted into law.

The islands are designated Nature and Scientific Reserves by the Department of Conservation, but Ngati Toa says the vesting won't impact conservation status or management.

John Robertson: New Zealand’s Apartheid - Rebranded and Ready for the World

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New Zealand 2.0: land of the long white cloud, kiwifruit, and apartheid. Oh, sorry, I mean co-governance. That’s the shiny, politically palatable term slapped on this grotesque social experiment where your rights depend on your bloodline, not your backbone. 

Once upon a time, Kiwis prided themselves on equality, unity, and fair play. But now? We’ve traded egalitarianism for a racial caste system that would make 1980s South Africa blush. The government’s genius idea? To divide a nation of five million into two camps: those with ancestral connections to a canoe and everyone else who has the misfortune of existing in the wrong lineage.

Peter Murphy: Animosity against Jews demonstrates leftist icon Greta Thunberg’s extremism

Greta Thunberg, once the darling of the climate change movement, has revealed herself as virulently anti-Israel, which should make her a pariah in any legitimate social or political cause. Since the October 2023 Hamas slaughter of Israeli civilians, including children and infants, Thunberg, now 21 years old, has called for “crushing Zionism” and repeatedly accused Israel of “genocide.”

Michael Reddell: 2025 and what might have been

Okay, so the weather in Wellington is even less conducive to either being at the beach or in the garden than it was on Friday.

Tomorrow it will be 2025. Once upon a time there was a government that adopted a goal of catching up economically with Australia by 2025. I don’t suppose the Prime Minister of the day – John Key – really cared that much for the goal, although for a while he articulated the rhetoric well enough, and he’d campaigned in 2008 on the continuing exodus of New Zealanders to greener pastures – well, higher incomes anyway, on a dry continent – across the Tasman. The goal, and the associated taskforce set up to advice the government on how it might get there, was more of an ACT win.

Alexander Gillespie: NZ report card 2024 - how the country fared in 25 key global and domestic rankings

If it’s good enough for school and university students, it’s good enough for entire countries, too.

This report card provides a snapshot of how New Zealand fared across a wide range of international measures – where it did well, and where there’s room for improvement.

Tim Donner: Jimmy Carter - From Political Failure to Personal Triumph

A failed presidency did not prevent him from becoming a consequential former president.

In the fullness of time, our late 39th president, who died at 100 years old on Sunday, December 29, will never be mentioned among the giants of American history. In fact, the name of Jimmy Carter has, in the more than four decades since he departed the White House, been included in almost every conversation about the nation’s least effective chief executives.

 

Tuesday December 31, 2024 

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