David Seymour - Helmut Modlik Treaty Debate

David Seymour and Helmut Modlik go head to head in a Treaty Principles Bill debate 

Click to view - Debate starts at 22 minutes timestamp

Bob Edlin: The pen indeed is mighty (the PC, too, presumably).....

The pen indeed is mighty (the PC, too, presumably) – but it’s overkill for Martyn Bradbury to proclaim ACT’s destruction

The Stuff website describes Andrea Vance as one of their senior journalists, with more than 20 years’ experience in reporting.

Born in Northern Ireland, we are told, she was an investigative reporter for the News of the World, was night news editor for The Scotsman, and worked in New Zealand’s parliamentary Press Gallery for nearly a decade.

Karl du Fresne: Why the culture wars are being lost by default

We have a moral problem in this country. Not to put too fine a point on it, it’s a cowardice problem.

One of the reasons the other side is winning the culture wars – and no one should be in any doubt that they are – is that too few conservatives and genuine liberals (as opposed to authoritarian neo-Marxists who have hijacked the term) have the guts to stand up and declare themselves.

Look at the comments on this blog and others such as Bassett, Brash and Hide or Muriel Newman’s Breaking Views.

The people who comment know what’s going on. They realise that liberal democracy and capitalism are under unprecedented attack. They are thoughtful and perceptive in identifying the threats posed by the cult of identity politics and they know what’s necessary to counter it.

Mike Butler: Dotcom shows up shallow reporting

“Human headline” Kim Dotcom’s launch/non-launch of his Internet Party has been “a study in the politics of naivety”, journalist and commentator Sean Plunket wrote this week. Writing in in the Dominion Post under the headline "Internet party amateur and vain", Plunket also noted that it has also a glowing example of the gullibility of certain sections of the New Zealand news media and public.

The Dotcom Party launch was leaked on the Whaleoil blog on Wednesday with the logo and details of funding. Left-wing blogger Martyn Bradbury was named as the candidate for Auckland Central, being paid $8000 a month. (1)

Karl du Fresne: Dotcom and Bradbury - a match made in heaven ... or should that be hell?

Some of the greediest people I've known were lefties. In fact I suspect the reason they were lefties is that they were deeply, bitterly envious of people with wealth and wanted a share for themselves.

In a few notable cases, once they discovered their inner capitalist, there was no holding them back. This was true of several people I can think of who were once staunch union activists but later discovered a talent for making money.