Garrick Tremain: An Ardern promise kept

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on teacher pupil ratio solved! 

Cam Slater: You Can’t Trust Labour on Tax

Labour’s botched tax grab on Kiwi savers was the fastest reverse ferret ever seen in modern politics. It was so fast that the Taxpayers’ Union barely had time to beg for money to oppose it. Labour polls every night during the working week. The news broke on Wednesday night about their sneaky, slimy, secret and untrustworthy tax grab; and they must have received absolutely parlous polling information that saw them quickly back down and reverse their position. But the underlying belief amongst voters is that you can’t trust Labour on tax.

Derek Mackie: Bully for you!

P: Paul Pittov-Trooth 

G: Dr Guarav Bad-Karma 

K: Kieran McNumpty 

P: Good evening and welcome to Would I Lie to You. The nation’s top political talk show, where we certainly can handle the truth and love nothing more than delving deep into government-labelled “misinformation”. 

 I’m Paul Pittov-Trooth, filling in for Art Ful-Kwizzer who’s on leave, recharging his mental health batteries after interviewing one too many egotistical, ideological half-wits who think they can run this country. 

The Will E Jackson gig last week likely tipped him over the edge! 

Art’s currently enjoying a luxury tour of all the great former European colonial powers and doing some genealogy research while he’s at it. 

 For my first show I’m starting off big, hosting two guests for the price of one, metaphorically speaking. Because we sure as hell wouldn’t pay these people to spout the load of old mouthwash they typically deal in. 

Both interviewees are former Labour Party colleagues who’ve been in the spotlight for fighting in the playground and name-calling. Tonight we’ve persuaded them to attempt a reconciliation, but it’ll likely end in tears…with any luck! 

Kate Hawkesby: This Govt has done its chips and panic mode isn't going to save them

 

It’s becoming more apparent every day that this Government is on its way out and I just wonder whether that’s why they’re spiralling now into the realm of the nutty.

The KiwiSaver tax announcement certainly looked like it. And now the embarrassment of axing that within about 5 minutes of announcing it due to such widespread backlash. What a cluster.

David Redman: The People Must Say No to Failed COVID-19 Strategies

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article by John Tierney (see Fauci and Walensky Double Down on Failed Covid Response, August 18, 2022) on the failed response to COVID-19 in the United States and in most western democracies.

The article was totally in keeping with what many have been saying for the past 2 1/2 years. That the response to COVID-19 was unprecedented, not in keeping with all the hard documented lessons learned from previous pandemics. In addition, it was both dangerous and deadly.

Point of Order: Polls and Peters’ political sensors prompt him to pounce on co-governance – and depleted pay packets – in pitch for support

So is Winston Peters ready to step back on to the hustings?.

He showed every sign of it when he fronted on the Andrew Bolt show on Australia’s Sky TV channel this week. As the interview ended the egregious Bolt wished him well in his campaign.

Bolt had invited Peters to appear on his prime-time talk-show, clearly agitated by the Ardern government’s moves towards implementing co-governance.

Bryce Edwards: Labour’s tax U-turn paints a picture of a dysfunctional Government

Will Labour’s GST U-turn do the Government much damage? Probably not – it’s insignificant in the greater scheme of things. Most likely, the flip-flop will soon be forgotten. What’s more, the details of the ill-fated tax proposal are almost too technocratic to even comprehend or care about.

The problem for Labour, however, is that this latest saga reinforces a number of narratives building up about the Government.

Garrick Tremain: Ram raids

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on liquor stores and ram raids! 

Net Zero Watch: Slowest start to hurricane season in 30 years

 

In this newsletter:

1) Slowest start to hurricane season in 30 years
Craig Bannister, CNS News, 29 August 2022
  
2) Central Pacific coral reef shows remarkable recovery despite two warm-water events
Scripps Institute of Oceanography, 6 July 2022

Mike Hosking: Spectacular U-turn shows an out of touch Government

As far as U-turns go, this is a spectacular one.

On Tuesday, the Government announce GST on KiwiSaver fees, Wednesday afternoon they're gone, so less than 24 hours.

They were gone before they even arrived.

John Porter: One Person One Vote

Willie Jackson does a great impersonation as 1 of the 2 seagulls fighting over a French fry at the beach!

Willie’s recent rant where he slammed the “one person, one vote” concept as outrageous highlights his ignorance. As we all know, “one person, one vote” is the core of democracy. But he also compounds his stupidity when countering with, “the nature of our democracy has changed!”

Then has the effrontery to respond with “politicians questioning the changes are engaging in racist dog-whistles”.

What planet does this guy dwell on? “Planet Stupid”?

Cam Slater: Can they please swap seats?

Yesterday in the General Debate we were treated with a perfect opportunity to compare and contrast Christopher Luxon with Nicola Willis. Perhaps they might like to swap seats and jobs?

Michael Bassett: Modern Labour sticks to that old time religion

One of the fascinating byways of history is the weird religious cults that people had followed over the years. In Oliver Cromwell’s time there were the Shakers who shook with the power of the Holy Spirit, and who went off to America, getting madder in transit. And there were the Levelers who held property in common. And the Fifth Monarchy Men who believed that four cycles of earthly power had come and gone, and ascended mountains at appointed moments hoping to welcome the fifth, the rule of their version of Christ. Come to think of it, my mother told me about a crowd who went up Mt Eden in their night attire in 1931 to welcome the return of Christ, got rained on, and were rather bedraggled on their descent.

Today there are still a few who have faith in Jacinda's Labour government despite the overwhelming evidence that it is an outmoded religion, lacking analytical and executive skills.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: People power- saving our retirement funds

 

It is a good day in New Zealand. The Government has backed down on their plans to tax your Kiwisaver. 

Is this the fastest back down in the history of backdowns in this country? 

Somebody needs to check David Parker for whiplash, such is the force with which he slammed the brakes on his own tax plan.

Martien Lubberink: The government taking full ownership of Kiwibank is a bailout in all but name

With the transfer last week of Kiwibank’s assets to a state-owned company, the New Zealand crown has now taken full control of the bank. At an estimated cost of NZ$2.1 billion, the change of ownership has all the hallmarks of a government bailout.

Former owners NZ Post, the Accident Compensation Corporation and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund could be considered justified in wanting to get out. It was an ailing bank in the making.

Point of Order: Wow – How closing the KiwiSaver tax loophole gave the Govt a springboard for a world-class policy somersault

The Ardern government has improved its gymnastic skills and this week executed one of its fastest somersaults of its turbulent career on what the mainstream media had labelled “the KiwiSaver tax grab”.

Of course, that label was a misnomer. Even so, a clever politician would have sensed the gathering storm long before it burst.

Even now, the government is left fretting as it surveys the damage done, rather like the Nelson residents who lost their homes last week.

Bryce Edwards: Govt must make healthcare transparent again

The new “Health NZ” centralised government entity, now rebranding as “Te Whatu Ora”, looks like it’s starting life as the epitome of the new public sector model of PR-led public service shielded from full accountability and transparency. The Labour Government needs to force Te Whatu Ora to be transparent and open to scrutiny.

Point of Order: The economic importance of coal

Why we shouldn’t rush to toss the baby out with the bath (or Bathurst) water

Defying the critics and climate change warriors, the country’s biggest coal miner has reported a near tripling of its underlying profit as higher prices lifted revenue.

At the same time the company, Bathurst Resources, underlined its value to the broader economy by generating a substantial proportion of its earning from exports.

Coal production was down about 8% to 1.9m tonnes, of which just under half was export coking coal used in steel making. Production was affected by bad weather, which caused flooding and slips.

The company is looking at expanding production, including the output from one of its Waikato operations.

Graham Adams: Stuff crowns itself the arbiter of truth

The media site’s grip on “facts and science” is selective and shaky.

Stuff appears to be taking its self-appointed role as the Ministry of Truth extremely seriously — despite its extremely patchy record on covering what it regards as science and facts.

On August 14, it launched Fire and Fury, an hour of taxpayer-funded agitprop that was designed to demonise anti-vaccine mandate protesters outside Parliament in February as being the dupes of far-right conspiracy theorists and white supremacists.

Its evident overreach was met with derision in some quarters — and even opened the door for Voices for Freedom, a group opposed to lockdowns, Covid vaccines, mandates and Three Waters, to thank the documentary’s host, Paula Penfold, for helping boost its subscriber numbers by 400 per cent.

Garrick Tremain: Trust Jacinda?

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on Jacinda's lies, pipe dreams and porkies!