Bob Edlin: Centre-right bounce back, could now form Government

The latest Taxpayers’ Union–Curia Poll will bring a sigh of relief for the Coalition parties as they find themselves able to form a Government again.

The poll, conducted between 29 March and 01 April, shows National is effectively static, down 0.1 points to 33.5 percent, while Labour is down 4.3 points from last month to 29.8 percent.The Greens are up 1.0 point to 11.0 percent, while ACT is up 2.3 points to 10.0 percent. New Zealand First is also up 2.3 points to 7.4 percent, while Te Pāti Māori is down 2.2 points to 4.3 percent.

Bob Edlin: Parliament conduct rules explained

No, we don’t need a tikanga expert to put context around a haka that disrupted proceedings in Parliament

The Māori Party – bleating about three of its MPs being denied the right to have someone explain tikanga to Parliament’s Privileges Committee – is engaged in provocative grandstanding.

The committee, chaired by Judith Collins, considers and reports on issues relating to parliamentary privilege and can find MPs in contempt of the House.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: RBNZ's Board Chair & Medical School at Waikato?....

Question: How Can RBNZ's Board Chair Make the Best Non-Political Monetary Decisions when he's at the same time begging Finance Minister Willis for a new Medical School at Waikato?

Its a tense time at the Reserve Bank. It currently has an Acting, or Temporary, or Stand-In, or Stand-Up, or On Probation, or Interim, Governor ever since the Former Governor walked off in a huff. Finance Minister Willis and Reserve Bank Chair of the Board, Neil Quigley, who is also Vice Chancellor of Waikato University, are discussing monetary & financial regulation matters which put potentially billions of dollars of Big Monopoly Private Bank profits and bonuses at stake. This week, Willis & Quigley together announced there would be a Review of the Capital Requirements that the retail banks must adhere to. The Finance Minister was the driver behind that announcement, which came about from lobbying by the Big Banks.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 30.3.25

Friday April 4, 2025 

News:
Key Māori entity appointments announced
Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka has today announced a number of appointment to prominent reo Māori entities, which he says will help grow accessibility to the language and culture in homes and communities.

“The appointments I’m announcing today include leaders in governance, business, broadcasting, and language revitalisation,” said Minister Potaka.

Chris Lynch: Prime Minister says Trump’s new tariffs risk global economic fallout.....

Prime Minister says Trump’s new tariffs risk global economic fallout, but New Zealand won’t retaliate

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has criticised former US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new 10% tariffs on imported goods from New Zealand, calling them harmful to the global economy and warning of broader economic consequences.

Peter Dunne: MBIE’s narrow-minded influence

While the government is in the mood for breaking up failing conglomerates like the supermarket duopoly, it should consider doing the same to one of its own largest agencies – the ubiquitous Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. MBIE was supposed to be the government’s go-to department, but nearly everything it gets involved in ends up turning to dust at some stage.

Brendan O'Neill: The last thing Britain needs is Trump’s free-speech imperialism

Will Donald Trump save us benighted Brits from our speech-policing overlords? That’s the hope of Britain’s excitable right. They’re giddy at the news that the Trump administration is reportedly tying its trade deal with Britain to the issue of freedom of speech. ‘No free trade without free speech’, says one US source. In short, if the British state doesn’t stop muzzling the unwoke, our nation will suffer. Mighty America will rap our knuckles.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Germany’s post-election theatre of the absurd

Winning an election can still mean losing control. This paradox is playing out in Germany right now. The Christian Democrats under would-be Chancellor Friedrich Merz have squandered their election win with breathtaking efficiency.

The 23 February 2025 election results presented a challenging political landscape. Merz’s centre-right CDU/CSU bloc won with 28.5 per cent of the vote. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) followed at 20.8 per cent. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) limped in with a historically poor 16.4 per cent, while the Greens secured a meagre 11.6 per cent and the far-left Die Linke a surprising 8.8 per cent.

Sir Bob Jones: Liz Gunn

The Liz Gunn prosecution was scandalously corrupt and has been exposed as such by High Court judge Justice Peters.

The initial prosecution was before District court judge Forrest who described Gunn as “rude, overbearing and offensive”.

JC: The Green and Māori Party MPs Need to Go

The events of recent days have proven beyond doubt that the Green MPs are a bunch of weirdos. They talk a lot about the planet but are so far off it that their presence in parliament serves no useful purpose. Examples of their perverse behaviour are becoming ever more frequent and should be of concern to any normal thinking voter. It seems they exist purely to lurch from one crisis to the next, most, if not all, of their own making.

Ele Ludemann: Which rules rule?

Would Te Pāti Māori MPs wear hats in a church, mosque or synagogue?

Would they respect any other mores if they went to a service in any of those buildings?

Would they expect anyone and everyone visiting a marae to abide by their customs and rules?

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Trump's Tariffs & PM Luxon's Advisers....

Has Trump Whacked Tariffs on NZ because of what PM Luxon's Highest Level Advisers have said about him?

Executive Director of the NZ Initiative Oliver Hartwich told Newstalk ZB that the best way to avoid being tariffed by President Trump is to adopt the following strategy: "We can't risk angering the Americans". He makes a strong point. Good on him. So what did former NZ Initiative Senior Economist Matt Burgess, who is now Prime Minister Luxon's Chief Economic Adviser have to say about Donald Trump a few years ago? 

Thursday April 3, 2025 

                    ⇩

Karen Chhour: Repeal of 7AA puts child wellbeing first

Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has welcomed the passing of legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act by Parliament.

The Bill’s passing will enable Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children and its frontline staff to focus first and foremost on the safety and wellbeing of children when creating care arrangements, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour.

DTNZ: Trump rolls out sweeping new tariffs

The ‘Liberation Day’ plan sets out broad, country-specific duties on US trading partners.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a new round of sweeping tariffs, part of what he has branded his ‘Liberation Day’ plan, raising concerns over a potential global trade war.

David Farrar: Trump imposes 10% tariff on NZ

President Trump has announced massive tariffs on most countries, including a 10% tariff on all NZ exports to the US.

The table he released claims that NZ imposes an average 20% tariff on US goods. This is just fantasy. The actual level of average tariffs is around 2%.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Prebs is Right - a 4 Year Parliamentary Term is no panacea to NZ's stagnation....

Prebs is Right - a 4 Year Parliamentary Term is no panacea to NZ's stagnation. The problem is neither the Nats nor Labour have had a plan since 1993.

In an excellent article in the Herald, Richard Prebble (or "Prebs" as we call him) argues the proposals presented by National-ACT for a four year parliamentary term are a mistake. (By the way, the Herald's sole defense for not being outrageously left biased and trying to avoid being taken over is that former ACT leader Prebs writes for it - he's the only thing stopping the Board being fired). Anyhow, here's a story on the 4 year term question.

Mike's Minute: We are housing snobs

A housing development for you.

A housing development that once again shows how reality beats theory.

Housing is a New Zealand obsession. We love housing and we long to own housing.

Derek Mackie: A friend like Ben

Ben, your X account appears no more 

Deleting all those posts was quite a chore

But with, the Greens to call your own 

You'll never be alone 

And you, my friend, will see 

Your best friend's me, Chloe 

    As long as you’re a Green MP 

NZCPR Newsletter: Cultural Apartheid

King’s Counsel Gary Judd has been at the forefront of a battle to defend New Zealand from the actions of Maori tribal leaders attempting to force their cultural apartheid onto our country.

He’s defending the Rule of Law from attack by those pushing for ‘decolonisation’ by arguing that since ‘tikanga’ is an ‘amorphous spiritual culture’ and not law, it has no place in our Common Law. And he’s appealed to Parliament’s Regulations Review Committee to stop the compulsory teaching of ‘tikanga’ to new law students.

He’s also opposing a Court proposal to commence and end each sitting day with a ‘karakia’ claiming it would breach the 1990 New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. Since Court participants would have no option but to sit through the Maori prayers, the proposal would violate their section 13 “right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief, including the right to adopt and hold opinions without interference”.