Bruce Cotterill: Election 2026 - New Zealand needs better spending, not big taxes

I’m sick of our politics.

Like many people, I’m deeply interested in it. But if you have even an average level of aspiration for what this country could be, you’d be right to be frustrated by the current campaign.

The politicking. The half-truths. The mistruths. The mealy mouthed words and phrases designed to mean one thing or something else. Members of a party making a comment, only for another member of the same party to say something different.

David Farrar: NZ First voted against the Singapore FTA

NZ First voted against the Singapore free trade agreement in 2000. It is that FTA that has led to this latest extension:

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he discussed the potential for other countries to join a landmark deal that ensures essential supplies like fuel and pharmaceuticals make their way to New Zealand during a crisis.

Alwyn Poole: Singapore and what NZ can learn re Maths Education

In mathematics, the main topic of PISA 2022, Singapore 15-year-olds in score 575 points compared to an average of 472 points in OECD countries.

According to the most recent PISA results, New Zealand students’ average score in mathematics is 479, which is slightly above the OECD average, but represents a significant decline from previous years, with the score dropping 15 points from 2018, indicating a concerning trend in New Zealand’s mathematical performance compared to other developed nations.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Labour leader Hipkins' dishonesty....

Labour Leader & Former Education Minister Hipkins must be held to account for his maths mistakes & dishonesty about the economic implications of population ageing

In an interview with TVNZ's Jack Tame, Labour's Chris Hipkins mislead Tame & five million New Zealanders about the economic implications of population ageing, which he states requires imposing capital & asset taxes. 

David Farrar: Singapore takes defence very seriously

The recent visit to Singapore by the PM has seen some commentators say we should have a defence posture such as Singapore’s where there is no defence treaty with the US.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 18/3/24

Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension looks like a SNAFU

Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today.

Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the government’s official website. Not news that the Beehive website has recorded, at least.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 18/12/23

Trade Minister gets into gear while colleagues put the brakes on Wellington transport scheme

Our Minister of Trade is going places. He is headed for India and Singapore this week and for Abu Dhabi next year.

Wellington’s highly controversial Let’s Get Wellington Moving, on the other hand, is going nowhere. It is headed for oblivion.

Brian Easton: Comparing The Singapore And New Zealand Economies

Singapore and New Zealand have much the same population – a bit over five million people. They are both affluent economies. Singapore is more affluent than New Zealand although there are reasons to believe the data exaggerates the differences. Because of their resource base and location they have rather different economic structures. Yet the two small economies work together in the international political economy.

Point of Order: A good energy policy is a good climate policy

Germany’s government shut down its last operating nuclear plant at the weekend.

Simultaneously, major utility EON announced a 45% increase in the price of electricity. Some German consumers will pay NZ$0.87 per kilowatt-hour.

And a day or so later, fellow-EU member Finland started regular output at Olkiluoto 3, Europe’s newest and largest nuclear reactor.

Point of Order: Mahuta heads overseas...

......(but have non-Maori been left out of her delegation?) while Luxon gushes about Nats’ Three Waters plans

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s latest travel plans have been posted on the Beehive website today, advising she is packing her bags to travel to Japan and Singapore tomorrow “to strengthen Aotearoa New Zealand’s connections with Indo-Pacific partners”.

But it seems she is strengthening the connections only for some New Zealanders.

The press statement says:

Geoffrey Miller: Jacinda Ardern’s trip to Japan and Singapore about more than just trade

International analyst Geoffrey Miller examines the motivations behind Jacinda Ardern’s first foreign trip since February 2020 – and says her tour of Japan and Singapore is about much more than trade

This is far from Jacinda Ardern’s first foreign trip – but it almost feels like one.

Ardern’s tour of Japan and Singapore this week is the first trip abroad by New Zealand’s Prime Minister in 781 days. Ardern has not travelled outside the country since February 2020.

The Government is calling the trip a ‘trade mission’ to show that ‘New Zealand is open for business’, given the phased removal of New Zealand’s Covid-19 border restrictions.

Point of Order: The co-governance debate – why Singapore would eschew such a model (and look how well the people of that nation are doing)

Peter Dunne, who was leader of United Future and served as a minister in former National and Labour governments, is right to remind us that “co-governance” is not a new idea, It has been at the heart of many of the successful treaty settlements of the past 30 years, he points out in an article posted on Newsroom.

“In the specific instances where it has been applied, it has generally worked well.”

A recent Stuff headline echoed this: How co-governance is already working

The accompanying article began:

Mike Hosking: Why can't we be more like Singapore on Covid?

 

Why on earth aren’t we like Singapore?

That question, by the way, is applicable to many facets of Singaporean life, but in this case let’s stick with Covid.

For a start, like us, Singapore has done a good job early. Like us, it’s a small island nation. Borders are comparatively simple although Malaysia to the north has been a bit of an issue.

But overall, along with places like Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, and us, locking up has been effective. They sit at 35 deaths for a population of about 5 million.

David Skilling: Small countries in an age of giants

Singapore is benefiting from a strengthening global economic recovery with increasing external demand supporting export-oriented sectors. Advance estimates are for GDP growth of 4.6% for the year to Q3 2017. And the 13-strong group of small advanced economies that I monitor are growing as strongly as they have since 2011.

This economic good news contrasts with the concerns about populism and protectionism raised over the past couple of years, to which small countries were thought to be particularly exposed.

Jeremy Sammut: Affordable health and ageing policy in Singapore

The Abbott government's decision to trim minister's titles has been criticised by commentators concerned that important issues, like population ageing, are no longer clearly tagged as portfolio responsibilities.

There is no doubting the policy challenges posed by the unprecedented ageing of the population in areas such as health and aged care. However, critics of the decision not to a have a designated 'Minister for Ageing' ignore the much bigger issue. The ability of governments to address ageing depends on the fiscal capacity to undertake ageing-related initiatives. Some countries are better equipped financially to do so than others.