Point of Order: IRD Minister’s tax report shows (no surprises) the benefits of getting much of your wealth from capital gains

We have waited patiently to post this ministerial press statement and some of the reaction, because the announcement was under embargo until 12.30pm and it was not then posted promptly on the Beehive website.

At first blush, the statement gives good cause for wealthier New Zealanders to brace to have more of their money taken from them by a government with an increasing debt to settle and an inclination to show “fairness” in its tax policies.

Point of Order: Expect to hear heaps about supermarkets and child welfare changes

But few will notice the fate of sod-turning ceremonies

Uh, oh. We no longer have a simple sod-turning ceremony to kick off work on a new road, pathway or whatever.

The dignitaries who are invited to these photo opportunities will find they are attending something called a huringa nuku.

Brian Giesbrecht: The “60’s Scoop” Continues

The federal government has reached an agreement in principle to settle outstanding class-action lawsuits relating to what has come to be called the “60’s Scoop”. Eight hundred million dollars will be set aside to settle claims of First Nations and Inuit children who were removed from their homes – “and lost their cultural identity” – between 1951 and 1991.

This settlement represents the claims for cultural loss by status Indians and Inuit only. Metis and non-status claims remain outstanding, as do claims for other types of loss. The final bill is sure to be in the billions. A national inquiry on the issue is almost certainly being planned – to begin once the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls has issued its report.