Barrie Davis: State of the Nation Rant

We have had a 180 degree change of Government at the election after the previous regime pursued an unrealistic ideology financed by tax and borrow, with the primary architects leaving politics and a nation in recession. Their delusion, deception and propaganda were enough to make Putin blush: never in the history of political poncey-toggling has so much balderdash been said to so many by so few. And we fell for it sufficient to vote them in for a second term. While the celebration continued in pursuit of vibrancy, equity and gratification, the country is bankrupt of purpose, ethics and means, as it spirals to somewhere between Samoa and South Africa.

Clive Bibby: Collateral damage or architects of our own future

Countries like ours (members of what remains of the Free World) appear to be divided into two groups of people who have already made choices about our future both here at home and as members of the commonwealth of nations collectively facing the problems of the times.

Unfortunately, for the rest of humanity, those same choices were never theirs and even the ones that might have mattered, have already been made by others. 

Patrick Carroll: Why Product Safety Regulations Should Be Scrapped

Consumer protection laws may be well-intended, but they have dangerous side effects.

A common objection to unfettered capitalism is that, left to their own devices, greedy industrialists would cut corners with product safety, resulting in tremendous harm to consumers. Dangerous products would flood the market, leading to a dystopia of preventable death and destruction.

Dr Don Brash: Bans and climate change - The law is an ass

As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created by humankind, and a strong view that all countries have a responsibility to take policy measures to reduce those greenhouse gas emissions.

Alwyn Poole: Time for Chloe to Refrain from the Mary Jane campaign.

As if more evidence was needed of the harm from Marijuana use the American Heart

Association has published a study showing:

Max Salmon: Cabinet Congestion

New Zealand’s Executive Branch has grown to an abnormal size. The number of departments, portfolios, and ministers likely causes a suite of coordination, policy drift and resource management problems.

New Zealand relies on the Executive for everything from education to roads. This report’s research, alongside the academic literature, suggests size and complexity are severely limiting the optimal performance of this branch of Government.

David Farrar: What if the Interislander folded?

The Herald reports:

StraitNZ was founded by Ōtorohanga businessman Jim Barker in 1992 as Strait Shipping.

Its current Cook Strait vessels are the Strait Feronia, and the Connemara.

They each make four Cook Strait crossings daily and carry about 35 per cent of total Cook Strait passenger volumes. The business also operates a road freight network which carries about 55-57 per cent of all road freight, said McMahon. The company employs up to 600 people, depending on the season.

Kerre Woodham: How much should we rely on Civil Defence?

The independent review of Hawke’s Bay’s Civil Defence response to Cyclone Gabriel has been completed and it is damning. Former Police Commissioner Mike Bush conducted the investigation and released the findings yesterday.

Mike's Minute: Some thoughts on the public service cuts

As the political battle unfolds with the public service over savings, it is worth remembering a couple of things.

As much heat as the Government is taking over the so-called cuts, and to be honest I am not sure that there is in fact a great deal of heat outside of Wellington, it might be worth remembering that the previous Government was the one who handed out the jobs like there was no tomorrow.

Tuesday March 26, 2024 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 26/3/24

The PM baulks at cyber grilling but Collins is not so shy – and McCully is given a job by the Minister he mentored

China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department.

Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning Report – he would not even confirm that ministerial statements were in the offing.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: PM Luxon & Seymour forgot their own commitment to cost-benefit analysis

PM Luxon & Seymour forgot their own commitment to cost-benefit analysis when talking about the SailGP-Hector Dolphin Furore

A nice feature of NZ is that, in spite of our problems, whether they be homelessness, crime, or inflation, the fate of stranded whales or endangered Hector dolphins awakes our passions often more than tiresome political & economic debates.

Sir Bob Jones: Obvious new progressive policy for the Green Party

The news from Afghanistan that the Taliban Big Boss, no doubt after careful consideration, has decided to bring back stoning to death for women will doubtless induce a predictable unthinking response from some over-opinionated western females, who would probably be certain candidates for this punishment were they Afghans. But they shouldn’t be too dismissive of other cultures and instead look on the bright side, such as a much more peaceful existence for everyone.

Rod Kane: We Want Action and We Want It Now

Rod Kane writes as Guest Post on the BFD

The 100 days have come and gone and we can now sit back and wonder what’s next on the menu. Quite a bit we hope.

For my money, I would like to see the coalition repeal every single piece of legislation that the last corrupt mongrel ‘government’ inflicted on us and start again. Then it would be brilliant if some legislative genius in there could find a way to lock it in place so that whoever comes in next, can’t go back to where we were last year.

Cam Slater: Go On, Campaign on a Capital Gains Tax

Chris Hipkins has suddenly decided that a capital gains tax is a good idea after all. He kept that quiet before the election, actually saying no to it. We can now be under no illusion that had Labour won the election they would have rammed through a capital gains tax faster than a New York minute.

Ele Ludemann: Labour hasn’t learned

Just a few months after their election defeat, just days after confirmation that the country is in recession and Labour is promoting the idea of new taxes.

David Farrar: Will the media call him far left?

Green MP Ricardo Menendez March said in Parliament:

I rise in support of the Companies (Address Information) Amendment Bill. As a true Marxist, I'm not really one to stand up for the petite bourgeoisie …

Geoff Parker: An Urgent Moratorium On Race-based Policies And Preferences

Open Letter To:

 
The Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister - Christopher.Luxon@parliament.govt.nz

The Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister - Winston.Peters@parliament.govt.nz

The Hon David Seymour, Leader of the Act Party - David.Seymour@parliament.govt.nz

The Hon Shane Jones, Deputy Leader of NZ First Party - Shane.Jones@parliament.govt.nz

AN URGENT MORATORIUM ON RACE-BASED POLICIES AND PREFERENCES

Dear Ministers,

Andrew Dickens: Let's put SailGP on at an appropriate venue and move on

I was not going to talk about dolphin-gate- but from first thing this morning, everyone was talking about it.

Sir Russell Coutts has had an epic meltdown over the cancellation of Saturday racing of his SailGP series.

He had to refund the spectator's tickets, which meant at least a third of his income went up in smoke.

JC: Kiwis Don’t Use MSM for News

The headline to this article will probably surprise very few. For quite some time now the news media in this country have decided that they are not interested in providing or presenting news in a way that is digestible for the majority of Kiwis. Their aim is to polarise the news, and therefore their potential audiences, to the maximum. In doing so they are portraying themselves as ‘holier than thou’ and ignoring their audiences’ wants or needs. They are in fact operating as a self-serving lawless cabal putting themselves above everyone else.