Jordan Williams: Chris Hipkins wants to tax your holiday home so you can pay for his

We all know politicians "take the piss" when it comes to entitlements. But have you seen the news about Chris Hipkins? He has taken it to a whole new level.

The most common rort is when MPs claim a tax-free Wellington accommodation allowance when they already own an apartment in Wellington. National's Louise Upston has been in the firing line for this – but at least she has the excuse of needing somewhere to stay in Wellington.

Jordan Williams: More ridiculous wastage of taxpayer money

Last week I wrote about some of the ridiculous wastage of taxpayer money by the Health Research Council. We received an absolute barrage of emails in response – with 99% having the same reaction as us: things need to change in Wellington.

I promised you there'd be more to come, and today we're turning our attention to another of the great research quangos that our research team has been looking into: the Marsden Fund, which is managed by the Royal Society of New Zealand.

What's the Royal Society and its Marsden Fund all about?

Jordan Williams: We can't afford cancer drugs - but can afford this?

While cancer patients wait for the Government to "find the money" to fund desperately needed modern drugs, the very money meant for health research and saving lives is being flushed down the toilet.

At our weekly staff meeting this morning, the research team took me through the latest batch of grant funding decisions by the Health Research Council.

My heart sank.

But first, let's remind ourselves what the Health Research Council is.

Dr Eric Crampton: How police alcohol activism risks overstepping the mark

When Guyon Espiner reported on a police estimate of ‘$7.8b harm from booze’, I was curious whether the figure was the old BERL alcohol cost zombie back again from the dead to torment the living.

The BERL number included drinkers’ spending on their own alcohol – not a ‘social cost’ by any reasonable standard. Other costs were counted twice. It was …unsound. Only about a fifth of BERL’s number could count as a social cost by a more standard method.

So, I asked Radio New Zealand for the original documents, hoping to find a source for the figure. No source was cited, but police communications staff later confirmed that the number was BERL’s.

Mike Butler: Focus on tribal tax exemption

The Taxpayers' Union is querying Labour Party leader Andrew Little's comments at Waitangi that New Zealand should consider allowing Maori to make their own laws, including tax laws, in reference to rules applicable to Native American tribal lands.

Little’s comments represented a parting shot of Waitangi Day 2015 that featured expert-on-everything Gareth Morgan telling five-generation New Zealanders of British ancestry to stop being ignorant about Maoris.

Jordan Williams: Lobbying bill will distance people from MPs

Green MP Holly Walker's Lobbying Disclosure Bill is being sold to the public with the best of intentions.  But as drafted, it constructs such a barrier between MPs and members of the public that it will take us closer to the American-style lobbying industry the bill's supporters are hoping to avoid.

The bill makes lobbying activity a criminal offence for all but those preregistered with the auditor-general.  It requires all communications, even informal conversations, to be publicly disclosed with the client's identity and interests detailed.