Gary Judd KC: Myth, Memory and the BNZ

Winston should be ashamed

In his column in The Telegraph published on 19 May, “Deluded Labour will never let go of its EU fantasy,” Tom Harris said, “Such is how myths are made in modern Britain. Europhilia is similar to Thatcherphobia – it’s less about actual policies and empirical evidence than about feelings, and the less you remember about it, the stronger you feel.”

I made a note of it because the subordination of historical fact to feelings is so relevant to contemporary New Zealand and Tom Harris’ expression neatly captures the way passage of time and appeal to emotion may result in apparently serious pronouncements being evidence of sheer lunacy.

Such was Winston Peter’s solemn pledge that New Zealand First policy would include buying back the BNZ.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: What problems will buying back BNZ solve?

Here’s a question for you: if you really like Winston Peters’ idea of buying back the BNZ - why? What problem do you think will be solved by buying it back?

Do you think the banks are ripping you off because they’re owned by Australians, and that if only one of them were owned by us again, they wouldn’t?

Peter Williams: A BoNkerZ idea

No Winston, we should not buy a big bank

Since my first vote in 1975 I’ve been pretty much around the party clock, although I never stopped at Green o’clock. Once I even put a tick beside a Social Credit candidate because Muldoon’s National was just impossible to support in 1981.

I’ve been with Labour and National and Act but in 2023 I went with New Zealand First. That’s because they promised us a proper inquiry into the covid response and that they would ensure if treaty principles were not to be defined, they would at least be taken out of most legislation.