Steven Mark Gaskell: Chisels, Carvings & Cash: How Your Tax Dollars Are Funding the “Traditional Arts Revival” Industry

Ever wondered where your hard-earned tax dollars go? Roads? Hospitals? Teachers? Silly you. The real action is in carving workshops, cultural wānanga, and Toi Ake grants - where Māori artists and carvers are busy keeping “ancient traditions” alive, with a little help from Creative New Zealand’s million-dollar wallet... and you.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 4/11/24

A tariffying prospect for Kiwi exporters: Trump plans to tax imports – but a Harris presidency would be not much better

Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay today announced he will lead a large trade delegation to the 7th annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai next week, followed by a visit to Guangzhou. Maybe he should be preparing instead to head for the United States to do his best to counter American threats to this country’s trading interests.

The prospect of a second Trump presidency bodes ill for this country’s exports to the US – but, more ominously, his plans to slap stiff taxes on imports to protect American producers portend the sparking of trade wars around the globe.