Cam Slater: Sure Ingrid, We’ll Buy That Story

The latest gaslighting MP is Ingrid Leary, who has told us with a straight face that she mistakenly thought a Mongrel Mob meeting was actually an Electoral Commission meeting. Yes, she really expects us to buy that story:

Francesca Rudkin: If you’re a politician out with a friend - just remember to pay the bill

I like to have a good time, I let my hair down occasionally, and over the years I have by no means always behaved perfectly in public after a few drinks on a Friday night.

I’ve worked in the media for 25 years after all, an industry that really can’t throw shade at anyone else’s Friday night mishaps.

However, Wellington mayor Tory Whanau is likely wishing she had one less glass on Friday night. You know the story; apparently, she turned up to a restaurant with few drinks under her belt, had a meal and a few more drinks with a friend, and then made a bit of scene.

Lushington D. Brady: How Its Elite Class Have Stuffed Germany

Germany is pretty much stuffed right now, and it’s not because of the “far-right” bogey-man.

While the EU establishment and its media cronies clutch their pearls about the Alternative for Germany party’s renewed electoral vigour, Germany’s real issues are fast sinking the European powerhouse. Issues all caused directly by the ruling political establishment.

Garrick Tremain: Ram raid deterrent

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on ram raid prevention! 

Brendan O'Neill: The empire of hurt feelings

Islamic countries are trying to force the West to respect Muslims’ ‘feelings’. We must resist this therapeutic imperialism.

Where is the solidarity with Sweden? The foreign embassies of our democratic ally are under attack. The walls of its embassy in Baghdad were breached by hundreds of angry protesters last week. Other Muslim nations issued stinging rebukes against the Swedes. Morocco summoned Sweden’s representative for a dressing-down. Jordan reprimanded the Swedish ambassador over what it called Sweden’s ‘racist’ behaviour. Iran said it will not send an ambassador to Sweden. And Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Sweden’s ‘arrogance’, saying this wicked nation promotes ‘Islamophobia’ under the guise of ‘freedom of thought’ (not content with destroying freedom of thought in his own country, now he wants to undermine it in Sweden, too).

Lushington D. Brady: Fossil Fuels Are Still King

Anyone who tells you that the world is going to go “Net Zero” any time soon is either an ignoramus or a liar. Doubly, trebly so, if they try and tell you that it will be cheap and easy.

Anyone who’s looked at the power bill or filled their car in the last year or so can easily see the fact of the cost and ease of “Net Zero”.

Point of Order: Excitement on West Coast at the prospect of a new gold project

Gold has just been struck at New Zealand’s deepest mine and the operators believe it could be worth $2bn.

With the right encouragement from the government, exploitation of the newly discovered resource at the historic Snowy River site could signal the renaissance of the mining industry, and, importantly, strengthen the export economy when New Zealand has been experiencing widening deficits on its current account.

John MacDonald: Parking fines need to be tougher

When I was a kid, growing up in Dunedin, I used to hear adults talking about The Blue Flies.

I don’t know if it was just a Dunedin thing. But I eventually found out that these Blue Flies people were talking about were parking wardens.

They were called Blue Flies because they dressed in blue uniforms and they were as welcome as a fly.

 Monday July 3, 2023 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 3/7/23

Sure, the cost of motoring has surged, but Sepuloni wants you to know about all the good things the govt is doing

Motorists were bracing for a sharp rise in fuel prices late last week, ahead of the government reinstating the fuel tax and full-priced public transport fares from 1 July. They were grumbling about government unfairness, too, as they queued to fill their tanks before the new charges kicked in.

But hey – were those moaners unaware of the great things the government is doing to help them deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

Cam Slater: Greens’ Rent Controls Will Do the Opposite of What They Claim

The dopey Greens have announced a rent-control policy. But they seem to have no inkling that rent-controls have never worked anywhere in the world, unless their idea of a successful rent-control policy is to, in the long run, decrease housing affordability, fuel gentrification and create negative spillovers on the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Lushington D. Brady: How They Control Language to Control Us

There’s a reason the Climate Cult keep changing their terms

First, it was “global warming”, then it became “climate change”. Next minute, it was “dangerous climate change”, then “climate emergency” and “climate crisis”. If you’re bewildered and frightened by all this linguistic prestidigitation, then it’s doing its job. Because scaring the pants off you and stopping you from thinking rationally is the whole point.

The people behind this stuff know exactly what they’re doing.

Kerre Woodham: Is the problem the rent itself or the cost of living?

The Green Party has announced another plank in their bid to end poverty, and that is a limit on how much landlords can increase rent every year.

An earlier policy of the Greens, also designed to end poverty, was their wish for a minimum level of income, and that would be funded by a wealth tax. Now they want to see renters protected through a limit on increases, and a register setup of property owners to monitor compliance.

Bob Jones: The political polls

It staggers me that journalists take political polls seriously and call the forthcoming election a close-run thing. That’s rubbish. Labour will be swept out in a landslide, as I’ve been writing for the past two years. Putting aside the indisputable fact of the government’s astonishing ineptitude on so many fronts, there’s a simple reason for the coming debacle, namely the outrageous and seemingly endless maori favoritism announcements.

There was a time when political polls were accurate. That was in the highly politicised decade of the 1970s. Back then the vast majority of voters were either National or Labour and most Kiwis actually belonged to one of those two parties.

Garrick Tremain: Chippy or Tator

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on Chippy's wisdom! 

Clive Bibby: The debilitating effect of no hope

Most kiwis will have relatives who have been personally affected by the cyclones that ravaged the East Coast regions of Tairawhiti and Northern Hawkes Bay.

This Country’s diverse population is (with the exception of those who live in the Auckland region) spread rather evenly throughout the provinces of both islands and so when catastrophic weather events like the recent cyclones wreak havoc in rural New Zealand, the whole nation is watching to see if their extended family members are in danger. We react as one during times of crisis and that is comforting to know if you are being subjected to unrelenting pressure such as that which is ongoing here at Ground Zero.

Bruce Moon: Spotlight on Ngai Tahu

“He who is greedy is always in want.”  Horace, (65-8 B.C.)

Well, greatly enriched with taxpayer money, the Ngai Tahu tribe is really getting used to throwing its weight around.  Sometimes of course this may be appropriate in the general scheme of things but perhaps it is time to have a closer look at what it amounts to.

Francesca Rudkin: The Government would've been hoping for a better report card

Saturday marked a year since the new heath system Te Whatu Ora kicked into gear. Twenty district health boards were abolished and replaced with a centralised system aimed at getting rid of our postcode lottery of health care.

A year ago, I wished the then Minister of Health Andrew Little good luck with his venture. Our health system had been under pressure way before the pandemic hit, and clearly needed an overhaul. I liked the fact the government was taking a big swing at this and trying to make sure that New Zealander’s, regardless of where they lived, got the same services and healthcare. Us Kiwis love fairness!

NZCPR Newsletter: A Betrayal of Trust

The Labour Government has betrayed the trust of New Zealanders by changing key constitutional conventions without any mandate from voters.

When they took Office in 2017, equality of citizenship and the Rule of Law were constitutional cornerstones of New Zealand democracy.

Now, five and a half years later, New Zealand is no longer a society of equals.

Guy Hatchard: On the Brink of Biotechnology

In France, one young man has been deliberately shot and killed, apparently by a rogue policeman. Emmanuel Macron is contemplating whether to declare an emergency because of the widespread rioting, which is tied to police brutality against ethnic minorities. At least Macron knows he is facing an emergency.

This article is available as an Audio file and a PDF document.

In New Zealand (and elsewhere, including France), not one but one hundred extra people are dying each week, but our politicians are deliberately looking the other way, and even claiming it is not happening. As a result, there is a curious sense of unreality affecting everyone. Many still argue our voting choices later this year could avert an impending disaster, but in actual fact, it has already arrived.