To me, Shane Jones is an enormous waste of potential. Smart man, Harvard educated, of Maori descent and from the Far North, he really could be a champion of the regions, particularly in his own patch north of Auckland. But Jones lets himself down all the time. He is a
Admittedly, it was the weekend, and the news situation was obviously a bit light, but while the well known Auckland newspaper continues to push Clarke’s experience as the first man ever to become a parent, Stuff, not to be outdone, published an article from Next Magazine, which shows how
We all know how most international celebrities are vacuous and hopelessly biased, but watching the world’s attitude towards Jacinda Ardern since the Christchurch massacre has been most interesting. It seems that all you have to do to acquire international sainthood is to don a hijab, hug a few people,
We have watched the Australasian media pile into Israel Folau in the last few days, for his Christian beliefs. Specifically, that gay people will go to hell if they don’t repent. He was quoting the Bible and he said the same fate applies to drunkards, fornicators and adulterers, although
As the arguments for and against Capital Gains Tax go back and forth, an inevitable question rears its very ugly head. What about Maori land? Will that be subject to CGT? On the face of it, there is no obvious reason why not. All land sales are to be subject
The run up to the Budget is normally a very busy time for Treasury staff, as the final document has to be finalised, checked, printed, proof read and then distributed to literally thousands of readers. This year in particular, with the government’s first ever ‘Wellbeing Budget’ due out next
There are lots of reasons why Jacinda might be a one-term prime minister. The main one is a lack of substance. Sure, she has gained a lot of admiration for her handling of the Christchurch massacre, but really, all she did was don a headscarf, hug people and then pull
The above article was published by our favourite Newspaper, and then magically, it disappeared… So is it true or not? Well, the denials have been coming in thick and fast in the last day or two, so I am really not sure. First, let us hear from the government. quote.
Taxjustice.nz launched itself at parliament last Monday. If you missed the fanfare, you were not alone. Jordan Williams, from the Taxpayers Union, quipped that there were more media people at the launch than group supporters. I guess that just about sums it up then. Here is a photo of
If a TV advert were to show a person of European descent eating with a knife and fork, would you consider it racist? No? Well, obviously, you are wrong. Because that is exactly what has happened to Burger King, who have been forced to withdraw their adverts for their Vietnamese
I have never been much of a conspiracy theorist. I believe that men walked on the moon and that, on 9/11, a plane really did fly into the Pentagon. But the arrival of the above billboard on the Hutt motorway last week, and the launch of the new #taxjustice.
There is a lot of global uncertainty around at the moment, which is not doing much for economic resilience or business confidence. Brexit, China, the US… all are contributing to uncertainty about trade. For the March 2019 quarter, a net 29% of business owners were pessimistic about the economic outlook,
On the motorway into Wellington, there is a big sign saying: “We all work hard. Capital Gains Tax is fair.” Or words to that effect. Of course, this billboard is quite inaccurate. We do not all ‘work hard’. Many people do not work at all, choosing to live off welfare,
I have been thinking for some time about why the Crusaders should be forced into changing their name. This is virtue signalling of the first order. It looks as if the guys on the horses are gone for good; that is a shame – it was a wonderful sight. Even if
When Shane Jones joined NZ First, he was generally seen as Winston’s successor, and with good reason. Based in the Far North, of strong Maori descent, intelligent and educated, and with a lot of political experience, he was seen as the future of the party. But Jones was always
While we want to control immigration in this country, we have to acknowledge that the plight of genuine refugees, before they get here, can be grim. Having to leave their homelands to an uncertain future, leaving virtually all of their belongings behind and spending years in camps waiting for resettlement
