Suze: Harvard Is Learning Lessons the Hard Way

Flying the flag of personal political opinion has consequences

Influences at work during Covid twisted our thinking using irrational fear and withholding solutions that might have alleviated those fears; in the process revealing the absence of three big-ticket political items: genuine political opposition, a properly functioning fourth estate and academic institutions exhibiting fair and open debate.

Cam Slater: Robertson Left a Sea of Red Ink

It is ironic that Labour’s colours are red, the same colour as the sea of red ink in the Government’s books left by arguably the worst Finance Minister in New Zealand’s history, Grant Robertson.

Grant Robertson should be ashamed. The books are in much worse shape than we knew before the election. But worse are the ‘fiscal risks’ which weren’t public – and ought to have been.

David Farrar: Maori immunisation rates

Shane Reti announced:

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced a two-year $50 million package to help Māori health providers lift immunisation rates.

Launching the programme in Porirua today, Dr Reti says low immunisation rates put tamariki at particular risk of life threatening – and in some cases deadly – illness.

Bruce Cotterill: Employment is a two way street

There’s a bit of a storm brewing around the new government’s proposed workplace reforms.

True to the National and Act campaign manifestos, and to their combined coalition agreements they’re moving quickly to change the regulations around fair pay agreements and the re-introduction of 90 day trials.

Predictably, there are the usual naysayers who are upset at the government moves. Of course, the Unions usually come out in force when these types of changes are mooted, largely because such changes are a threat to their existence.

Thursday December 21, 2023 

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Bryce Edwards: Poll results, micro-budget, foreign affairs

The Labour Party’s decline continues, according to the latest opinion poll released by Roy Morgan, which shows its support has slipped to just 21% support – down from 5.9 percentage points since the election. This result is the lowest the party has ever received in a Roy Morgan poll. Act, by contrast, are up nearly 4%.

Here are the full results, with the changes noted since the election:

Lushington D. Brady: Co-governance by Stealth Is Still Going

The most important thing centrists and conservatives need to remember about the left is that they never, ever take “No” for an answer. No matter how many times they’re democratically told to shove off, the left scream and stamp their feet and hold their breath until they get their way.

And this is the lesson centrists and conservatives always forget. Every time the left throws their little tanties, the rest of us give in, thinking, ok, just give them this and they’ll finally shut up.

Bryce Wilkinson: Media release - Government’s mini-budget fronts the serious challenges ahead

Wellington (Wednesday, 20 December 2023) - “Treasury’s updated fiscal and economic forecasts released today confirm that this government faces serious fiscal challenges”, said Dr Bryce Wilkinson, Senior Fellow at the New Zealand Initiative.

“The Minister of Finance’s “mini-budget” statement shows she fully ‘gets it’.”

“Taxpayers and the recipients of government spending cannot all expect to avoid the burden of those challenges”.

David Farrar: An unusual crown observer appointment

Shane Reti announced:

health Minister Dr Shane Reti is appointing a Crown observer to Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, citing significant ongoing challenges around the 2022 health reforms.

“I have carefully considered the hard work which has gone on around Health NZ since its establishment,” Dr Reti said.

Wednesday December 20, 2023 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 20/12/23

Treasury’s fiscal update shows eliminating budget deficits will be hard work, but Willis stays wedded to tax relief promise

Four fiscally focused press statements flowed from the office if the Minister of Finance this morning as Nicola Willis released her government’s “mini-Budget” alongside the Treasury’s Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU).

The aim – obviously – was to persuade us the government’s financial management is in better hands than it was before the election and Willis will be doing her darndest to pave the way to cut taxes.

Peter Winsley: Te Tiriti o Waitangi cedes sovereignty to the Crown, and can be unifying rather than divisive

Repeated claims are made that Māori never ceded sovereignty to the Crown. These claims come from sources such as the Waitangi Tribunal, activists, academics, and from Te Pāti Māori.

A display in Te Papa on an English language version of the Treaty of Waitangi has been vandalized, presumably because it stated that the Crown assumed full sovereignty over New Zealand. Activists argue that the Māori language Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the only legitimate Treaty text, since most Māori assenting to a Treaty signed this version. I agree with these assertions. However, I disagree that in signing Te Tiriti, Māori did not cede sovereignty to the Crown.

Cam Slater: Last Poll of the Year

Labour is in the doldrums in the last poll of the year. It is the Roy Morgan though, but it does show how much Kiwis have fallen out of love with Labour.

Michael Bassett: Who needs Chippy when we have the Herald?

In case you are in any doubt, the New Zealand Herald, with TV1 in hot pursuit, has taken over the role of being the Labour-inspired Opposition to the new government. Chippy and Toni can take a holiday until the low-level editorial team at the Herald come to their senses, or the paper collapses.

Graham Adams: Fear stalks Auckland University campus!

‘Progressive’ academics all aquiver before Siouxsie Wiles decision.

Last week, the NZ Herald published a very curious article about an “unsafe workplace”. You might have expected it to be about volunteer firefighters, or police dog handlers, or perhaps even nurses at the frontline of hospital emergency departments, where unruly patients regularly unleash violence on them.

Garrick Tremain: Response to "MISSING TREMAIN"

A recent post on “bassetbrashandhide" titled “MISSING TREMAIN” was appreciated, bringing forth comments flattering in the extreme. Perhaps an explanation for my silence is in order.

In 2019 I gladly parted ways with the increasingly woke Otago Daily Times after 32 years as its daily cartoonist. A number of readers contacted me to plead that I continue cartooning, despite having no outlet. I advised that should I produce further cartoons I would email such work to them.

Daily Telegraph: More work needed on freshwater rules - Fed Farmers

Changes to freshwater rules are a step in the right direction but more work needs to be done if the new government are serious about restoring farmer confidence, Federated Farmers freshwater spokesperson Colin Hurst says.

“The National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management is without a doubt the most damaging regulation for farmers introduced by the previous Government.

David Farrar: How bad is Kāinga Ora?

Chris Bishop announced:

“A recent report by the Treasury and Ministry for Housing and Urban Development found that Kāinga Ora's level of debt had grown from $2.7 billion in 2018 to $12.3 billion in June of this year. Advice released last year suggests that if Kāinga Ora continues on its current trajectory, their debt would reach $28.9 billion by 2033.

Tuesday December 19, 2023 

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Cam Slater: Ahem… We Don’t Care What Officials Think. They Work for Us

We are getting many news stories published where we are told that “officials” have advised the Government that they should keep this, or that, or simply not do something that voters elected the Government to deliver, because they don’t agree with the policy.

The latest is “officials” opposing any changes to the 90-day work trial provisions: