Bruce Cotterill: Chasing foreign supermarkets won’t lower food prices

I sometimes wonder if our politicians put themselves in the headlines without thinking things through.

This week the supermarket industry has been back in the spotlight. Our Finance Minister is making it her business to keep it there as she attempts to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

Bruce Cotterill: New Zealand’s perfect political storm approaches

In Sebastian Junger’s excellent portrayal of the sinking of the fishing boat, the Andrea Gail, the author outlined what he termed “The Perfect Storm”. The phrase was used to describe a unique weather event whereby a high-pressure system, a low-pressure system and a hurricane collided to create a rare and deadly series of events.

A perfect storm of political proportions has gained momentum over the past week. In this case, the unbelievable negligence on the part of one MP, delusions of grandeur on the part of another group of our elected representatives, and a complete accountability failure of a separate coterie of past and present parliamentarians kept the commentators and the observers guessing throughout the week.

Bruce Cotterill: Butter backlash overlooks farming’s crucial economic role

It seems that we’re going batty over butter.

In case you’ve missed it, it’s the price of the stuff that has everyone’s attention. That price has rocketed upwards over the past 12 months as global demand for our product influences the price point at home.

Bruce Cotterill: Why a new slave labour commissioner won’t change anything

Labour MP Camilla Belich has lodged a member’s bill asking for another commissioner, this time to monitor our use of slave labour. Her proposal implies that there are too many cases of slave labour here, but also notes that our imports have a high content of slave labour. She seems to think that we will be able to convince our overseas suppliers to modify their employment practices.

Bruce Cotterill: NZ urged to trim government size amid rising spending concerns

The great American economist Milton Friedman was fond of saying that “the real tax on American people is what the Government spends”.

Change the name of the country and the message rings true.

While the Prime Minister has been on the road, ”growing the economy”, the gremlins back home have been getting in the way of the story he wants to tell.

Bruce Cotterill: NZ Government’s progress overshadowed by global economic, political risks

It’s 18 months since the new Government was sworn in.

The mess they inherited has been well documented, so too has their less-than-rapid impact on solving the problems we have. We’re an impatient bunch, and it feels like they’re taking their time.

When we look at many of our problems, we tend to focus on the here and now. The wait times at the hospitals, traffic jams at the roundabout and school exam results to name a few.

Bruce Cotterill: A vision for NZ - A safe place where everyone can prosper

Last week, I managed to get myself caught up in a lively conversation with a couple of mates. It wasn’t heated. But it was one of those discussions that no one was going to win

And then there was the debate after the Budget. The same word kept popping up. Apparently the Budget lacked it. The politicians try to talk about it but fail. They all have a series of their own, and often mutually exclusive, themes they try to stick to. But their ideas are usually either short-term, difficult to get agreement on or ultimately unworkable. For some time now, they have been unable to nail it. Instead they seem to focus on subsets of the big picture.

Bruce Cotterill: Low standards in Parliament mirror societal decline

The C-word is now in Hansard.

For those of you who are unaware, Hansard is the official record of the New Zealand Parliament. It records a transcript of all debates, and is essentially a near-verbatim written record of everything said by Members of Parliament (MPs) during proceedings in the House of Representatives.

And it now records the C-Word in its commentary.

Bruce Cotterill: Why the so-called Super City hasn’t delivered for Aucklanders

Do you remember the Super City? That gigantic failure of local government policy that saw Auckland’s suburbs surrender their decision-making and their character to the bureaucrats downtown?

By the time our local body elections roll around later this year, it will be 15 years since our seven regional councils were restructured into the so-called Super City under the Auckland Council. There was no referendum on the topic. Just a royal commission on Auckland governance and an enthusiastic Local Government Minister who championed its creation.

Bruce Cotterill: Is MMP still right for NZ? Reflecting on 30 years of electoral change

The recent antics within a couple of our minor political parties should force us to think about the future of our voting system.

The next general election in 2026 will see the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the MMP electoral voting system. MMP stands for mixed-member proportional and it replaced the “first past the post” (FPP) system we had had previously after a referendum in 1993.

Bruce Cotterill: Are leaders rewarded for profile, not performance?

I was reminded this week of the story of Jill Barad.

Barad was the rather glamorous chief executive of Mattel Inc in the 1990s who took well-deserved credit for the resurgence of the Barbie brand. But the last few years of her time in the corner office were marred by poor performance and failed initiatives. She was eventually let go in what was one of the first big corporate firings of the 20th century, in January 2000.

Bruce Cotterill: Infrastructure summit - NZ must harness local funds for growth, not just foreign investment

It’s early days but the Government’s first infrastructure investment summit appears to have been well received. There was good representation from the investment community, some visible presence from the international investment funds, and a Prime Minister who was “on song” with the business audience with which he would naturally feel more comfortable.

Bruce Cotterill: Who's at fault on school lunches

We love a good victim don’t we.

Show me a victim and I’ll show you an opposition politician preaching concern, a union leader criticising those who caused it, and a media scrum scrambling to tell the story.

Our television news teams have become quite expert at starting a story about any topic with the victims perspective. It could be crime, the economy or a shortage of fish in the sea. Rather than explain the issue or it’s cause, let’s start with the victim’s perspective.

Bruce Cotterill: Time for decisive Government action to get NZ back on track

In November 2023 our new Government was sworn in. They comprised a coalition of National, NZ First and Act. National’s campaign had swept that party to power with a promise that they would “get our country back on track”.

As we said farewell to what was arguably the worst Government in our history, a sense of hope emerged. Despite the woeful state of an economy riddled with debt and a society overladen with crime, we believed that we would scramble from our Covid-enforced hibernation and begin a recovery.

Bruce Cotterill: Hospitality industry needs to get back in the game and think smarter

With the summer holiday a rapidly fading memory and the new year in its infancy, it’s timely to reflect on some highlights and lowlights from the break.

For all of the challenges that our small nation has, we still manage to box above our weight when it comes to our ability to host major events. In particular, big weighty sporting events have become something of a specialist skill.

Bruce Cotterill: The right to protest is vital even if you don’t agree with the cause

For most of the last 180 years, New Zealanders have led a relatively peaceful, andproductive existence. We’ve done our bit internationally, and, in particular, our young men and women have represented our country with great pride in the two world wars. Our innovators and our athletes have helped to shape the world.

But we’ve had our moments of upheaval, too. It hasn’t always been peace and quiet. The 1950s saw the waterfront strikes, and the 1970s gave witness to Dame Whina Cooper’s Māori Land March, and the occupation at Bastion Point.

Bruce Cotterill: Trump’s triumph - How the working class reshaped US politics

A lot of people didn’t want Donald Trump to become the next president of the United States.

A number of European leaders clearly didn’t want the Republican to win it. There are plenty of people pushing global agendas who didn’t want that outcome either. And let’s not forget the celebrities and the people in the media. But 72 million Americans, more than half of those who voted, did want the 45th President back for a second time.

Bruce Cotterill: How the America’s Cup can still be New Zealand’s Cup

Another instalment of yachting’s America’s Cup is now behind us. And another victory for Team New Zealand is in the bag. For the record, Team NZ won the best of 13 finals series by 7-2. You’d probably call it a convincing result.

It’s the third time in a row Team NZ has been successful. The New York Yacht Club held the world’s oldest sporting trophy for 132 years. They successfully defended it 24 times in that period before losing ultimately to Australia II in 1983.

Bruce Cotterill: New Zealand’s orange cone culture - How we lost common sense on the roads

A few weeks back, I was driving along Interstate 40 between Memphis and Nashville. I was three lanes wide on a four-lane highway and travelling along at the speed limit of 75 miles per hour. That’s about 120km/h in our language.

Up ahead I noticed traffic slowing on the inside lane. A closer look revealed a road working crew. There were two orange cones in front of a small barrier about 2m wide. Behind the barrier were two men working waist-deep in a hole in the road. A third man stood on the verge observing. They didn’t appear to have a vehicle nearby or for that matter, any other workers with them.

Bruce Cotterill: Christopher Luxon’s growth strategy vs Chris Hipkins’ tax plans

Economic contrasts - Christopher Luxon’s growth strategy vs Chris Hipkins’ tax plans

I’ve been observing the Prime Minister over the past few weeks. I must admit there was a time when he didn’t have me convinced, but it feels like he’s growing into both the role and the enormity of the challenges that go with it.

As we’ve all heard, he is repeatedly stressing the importance of getting our economy back on track. He might feel like he’s repeating himself excessively, but there’s a two-pronged message in there. Firstly, an acknowledgment we’re off track. Secondly, a commitment he’s trying to turn that around.