Graham Adams: Hipkins drags out Phoney War with Coalition

After Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939 there was an eight-month period in which there were a few brief skirmishes but very little significant fighting on land. The standoff in Western Europe was dubbed the “Phoney War”, the “Bore War”, and the “sitzkrieg” (“the sitting war” — in contrast to the blitzkrieg inflicted on Poland).

Military action was mainly carried out at sea until Hitler’s lightning invasion of Norway in April 1940 sparked serious hostilities.

David Farrar: David Parker’s valedictory

Quite a few interesting things said by David Parker in his valedictory speech:

Dame Anne Salmond describes the Treaty as an exchange of gifts—tuku—between the Queen for her subjects and a rangatira on behalf of hapū. I agree with Dame Anne that Te Tiriti is not a partnership between races. She criticises both the phrase and that legal construct from the decision of Lord Cooke in the 1987 land case. I don’t think those comments from Cooke are a necessary part of the ratio decidendi of that case, and it would be helpful for the senior courts to say so if they are of that view.