Thomas Cranmer: Trump's Balance Sheet Diplomacy Set to Reshape World Order

Less than a month into his second term, Trump has already dismantled the old rules of US foreign policy and ushered in a new era.

Liberal interventionism which emerged as the dominant policy setting in the smouldering ruins of the Twin Towers on 9/11 is officially over. Its last act was arguably the chaotic and humiliating withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in August 2021.

David Farrar: Greens don’t walk the walk

Thomas Cranmer reports:

In 2019 Green co-leader James Shaw defended his high international travel expenses, explaining it’s offset by planting trees and informing the public that the Green Party offsets all travel through tree-planting, something he said he’d “recommend people do”.

Thomas Cranmer: A Waste of Everyone’s Money and Time

Prime Minister Luxon ended his post Cabinet press conference by addressing the question about whether the government will continue to support Jacinda Ardern as the special envoy for the Christchurch Call.

“We will have more to say about that very very shortly, obviously there’s been a good series of conversations about how that model continues to evolve; it’s important work but watch this space, we’ll talk about that very shortly,” Luxon said.

Cam Slater: Right Back at Ya!

Labour, along with their handmaidens in the complicit media, have launched a full-on attack against the Government over alleged conflicts of interest with ministers and the tobacco lobbyists. It’s been a rather forlorn attack, but along the way 1News has doxed the Prime Minister’s sister in law, and the rest of the media have played along, hurling all sorts of allegation without any evidence or foundation.

Peter Williams: Come in Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer’s real identity has been blown.

The lawyer and blogger and tweeter who has exposed many a scandal in the last year or so had one of his stories published under his real name in the English Spectator magazine in April.

Thomas Cranmer: Enhancing democracy - The case for a second chamber in New Zealand’s Parliament

New Zealand’s parliamentary system has long been admired for its democratic principles and progressive governance although it has increasingly come under strain and criticism over recent years. In particular, the use of urgency to rush laws through Parliament and the curtailing of public consultation during the legislative process has led to criticism from legal commentators, the media and notable constitutionalists such as Sir Geoffrey Palmer. Treaty politics has also intensified along with the use of the much-maligned concept of co-governance.

Thomas Cranmer: Thames Water on the brink of collapse sends warning of Three Waters debt risk

The English water utility uses the same highly leveraged financing structure as proposed for Three Waters. Crippled by £14 billion of debt it now faces imminent insolvency or renationalisation.

Yesterday news broke that the UK’s biggest water supplier, Thames Water, is on the brink of financial collapse under the weight of £14 billion of debt. The utility provides water to 15 million people in London and the South East.

The water company has struggled under a mountain of debt for many years which has crippled its ability to upgrade its infrastructure on time and improve water quality. The Daily Mail reported yesterday that Thames Water had spilled sewage 22 times a day last year, leaks 630 million litres of water a day and has paid more than £30 million in fines.

Thomas Cranmer: Three Waters Amendment Bill before Parliament

The new Three Waters amendment bill is intended to increase the number of water services entities to ten and introduce a Funding Agency but only makes a bad policy worse.

The Three Waters legislation was back before Parliament yesterday in the form of an amendment bill which is intended to implement changes to the reforms announced by Prime Minister Hipkins and Local Government Minister, Kieran McAnulty in April.

Those changes came about as a result of the new Prime Minister’s “policy refresh” which asked McAnulty to consider options for reform of the Three Waters proposal, including timing and sequencing, the number of entities and boundaries and alternative approaches for Māori representation and involvement.

Thomas Cranmer: Second term government, third term problems

They say a new broom sweeps clean, and that is certainly the case with the premiership of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. However, even he couldn’t have anticipated the rapid exodus of ministers under his premiership. The fallout has left reputations tarnished, with survivors like Kiri Allan grappling after a series of missteps. Meanwhile, Jan Tinetti’s fate hangs in the balance as the Privileges Committee investigates allegations of misleading the House regarding her office’s role in the release of school truancy data.

What has prompted this state of affairs and what does it mean for the next government?

Thomas Cranmer: Inside RNZ - Slack Editorial Practices and Management Failure

Sources within RNZ reveal concerns about a lack of management oversight and a decline in editorial standards that have contributed to the scandal relating to its editing of wire service stories.

Last week saw the national broadcaster RNZ launch a review after it emerged that a number of Reuters and BBC stories about the Ukraine-Russia war had been altered to include pro-Russia sentiment. It soon became apparent that stories covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, China and gender identity issues had also been subject to unauthorised editing.

Thomas Cranmer: EPA recommends a model of co-governance which 'may set the lawyers hair on fire'

Amongst the seemingly constant stream of ministerial missteps of late, it’s easy to forget that in March Rob Campbell was fired from the boards of Te Whatu Ora and the Environmental Protection Authority over comments that he made criticising National’s Three Waters policy.

Immediately following his axing, Campbell hit back by claiming that ministers had “targeted” him after he stood up for co-governance.

Thomas Cranmer: From comrade to Dame in a New York minute

They say that a week is a long time in politics and indeed that seems to be truer now than ever. But consider, for a moment, the transformation that our former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made during her 15 years in New Zealand’s Parliament.

When Ardern was first elected to Parliament in 2008, she was still the President of the International Union of Socialist Youth. She managed both roles for her first 15 months in Parliament and was famously filmed giving the closing remarks at the 2009 IUSY Festival in Hungary where she referred to her fellow members as ‘comrades’ no fewer than 15 times during her seven-minute speech.

Thomas Cranmer: Minister Awaits Review into DOC Funding Hole

Multiple reviews are examining options to address a $25M to $40M funding hole in its operating budget and a reported $300M, 70,000 hour maintenance backlog for huts, tracks and visitor assets.

Following Friday’s revelation that Budget 2023 has left the Department of Conservation with insufficient funding to meet its basic running costs, Chief Executive Penny Nelson sent an email to all staff later that day addressing some of the issues raised in my article.

The email also sheds further light on the precarious financial position that the department now finds itself in. It makes clear that Minister Prime is aware of the situation and is expecting to receive the initial results of several reviews taking place by the end of August.

Thomas Cranmer: John Tamihere and the Waipareira Trust

The Charities Services decision to require the Waipareira Trust to claw back $385,000 of interest-free loans from John Tamihere brings renewed attention to the links between Whānau Ora and the Trust.

Revelations earlier this month in the Herald that the social services charity Waipareira Trust had agreed with Charities Services to cease making political donations and take steps to claw back $385,000 of interest-free loans made to its chief executive, John Tamihere, has put the controversial politician and media commentator back in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

It’s not the first time that a financial scandal has hit the trust or Tamihere. In October 2004, the then Labour Party MP was accused of dishonest financial dealings, including in relation to a $195,000 golden goodbye from the Waipareira Trust that he accepted when he was elected to Parliament in 1999.

Thomas Cranmer: Department of Conservation Hit By Funding Crisis

Alarm bells have been rung by the department after its Deputy Director-General for Operations warns, 'the initial view shows that we do not have sufficient funding to cover our basic running costs'.

Following last week’s budget, alarm bells have been rung by the Department of Conservation. Just after 5pm on Wednesday, Deputy Director-General for Operations, Mike Tully, sent an email to senior staff advising them of discussions that took place on Monday with the senior leadership team relating to the 2023/24 financial baseline information for the department.

Thomas Cranmer: The State of Stuff - Media Ownership and Transparency Under Scrutiny

Today marks the third anniversary of Sinead Boucher's acquisition of Stuff but questions still remain unanswered about the media group's governance structure and the identity of its backers.

As the general election looms, the media will play an increasingly critical role in presenting the political personalities and issues to the New Zealand public. The manner in which those stories are framed will undoubtedly have some influence on the outcome. So before we cast a critical eye over our political parties and their offerings, it might be worth considering the state of our media, and in particular, the state of Stuff.

Thomas Cranmer: New Zealand's Thin Blue Line

The Parliament Protests and the Posie Parker Rally have exposed the extent to which the Police frontline is under-resourced and under-funded.

Soaring levels of crime and high profile protests at Parliament and the Posie Parker rally have made policing a political hot topic over the past three years. Following last week’s budget, Police Minister Ginny Andersen announced that the government was nearing its goal of recruiting an additional 1800 frontline officers, as pledged in 2017.

According to Andersen, the new funding will guarantee the maintenance of the current ratio of at least one officer for every 480 New Zealanders. In 2017, the ratio stood at one officer for every 544 individuals.

Thomas Cranmer: Are political parties too tribal?

Assessing the impact on democracy and the escalation of polarisation

Political parties play a significant role in democratic systems, including in New Zealand. They provide a means of organising political representation and facilitating the functioning of the government. However, the question arises whether political parties, with their inherent tribalism and policy conformity, are necessary for a functioning democracy. The shortcomings of political parties are apparent on an almost daily basis with elected representatives and supporters encouraged to maintain a blind support for party policies even when faced with legitimate criticism. The adversarial nature of the Westminster system makes it difficult for politicians to admit mistakes and the net effect is an exacerbation of polarisation.

Thomas Cranmer: Realpolitik and New Zealand's Relationship with the Crown

While New Zealand's transition to a republic may seem inevitable, the influence of realpolitik could potentially dictate otherwise.

On Saturday, King Charles III was crowned in London in a magnificent ceremony steeped in tradition that celebrated the continuation of the monarchy’s long history. Every detail emphasised its ancient past and the link between God, king, and country. More than that, it was a celebration of Britishness complete with pomp, pageantry and wacky eccentricity.

In the Commonwealth Realms, King Charles’ accession to the throne has been greeted in more subdued fashion. Over many years, there was the suggestion that the Queen’s death would trigger reform of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements. However, whilst questions of republicanism have inevitably arisen over the last six months, it is notable that both upon Charles’ accession to the throne and his Coronation, the discussion around those questions by politicians and in the media has been muted.

In his final press conference before departing New Zealand for London last week, Prime Minister Hipkins suggested that he was a republican because his belief was that in time we would become a “fully independent country”.

Thomas Cranmer: Meka Whaitiri's Departure from the Labour Party - A Wake-up Call for the Māori Caucus

The broader question posed by Whaitiri’s move is where the Māori caucus is more effective: inside or outside Labour?

Jacinda Ardern may have left New Zealand politics but her announcement in mid-January that she would step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party seems to have set the tone for much soul-searching by MPs during this election year.