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Should China Pay Reparations?

Should China Pay Reparations?

Finance Minister Grant Robertson was interviewed by Mike Hosking on 31st of March. When asked about the effects of the Coronavirus on the New Zealand economy he was frank. “Generations will be paying for it,” he said. But should they? Should we? The devastation that was caused by the Coronavirus

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Seriously Jacinda – Who do You Think You Are?

Seriously Jacinda – Who do You Think You Are?

Berating Bauer Media for reacting to the government’s inability to think of unintended consequences of its actions really is inappropriate. You’d need to have been living in another galaxy to not be aware of the struggles of print media over the past few years. Bauer is just one.

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Money Grows on Trees

Money Grows on Trees

The main thing that saved us from a total economic meltdown in 2008 was a very robust banking system. Amid all the silliness going on in the rest of the world, our banks still insisted on 20% deposits for home buyers (smaller deposits were allowed but in restricted numbers), giving

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Does Finance Minister Have Enough Information to Lift Lockdown?

Does Finance Minister Have Enough Information to Lift Lockdown?

Press Release: ACT Party ACT Leader David Seymour is questioning whether the Finance Minister has enough information about COVID-19 to know when New Zealand should come out of lockdown. “Every day of this lockdown is costing a fortune. Livelihoods are being lost as businesses burn up their working capital and

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Why Would a Cigarette Factory Stay Open?

Why Would a Cigarette Factory Stay Open?

Businesses across New Zealand have had to close, with no exceptions at all except for “essential businesses”. What is an essential business, you ask? Examples given have included supermarkets, pharmacies – and the Imperial cigarette factory in Petone, Wellington. Huh? Stage-four – the most-extreme of New Zealand’s coronavirus alert levels – means

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The BFD Face of the Day

The BFD Face of the Day

Our face of the day PM Jacinda Ardern on Monday said that: “the Government was not looking at allowing greengrocers to reopen to provide extra competition.” because “Unfortunately that would undermine what we’re trying to do, which is limit the public’s contact with workers and each other,” But

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Countdown Fails Coronavirus Safety

Countdown Fails Coronavirus Safety

Dear Editor On Thursday, my wife and I visited the Countdown supermarket in Taupo to do some essential shopping. * We found there was only one Entry point – good. * At that Entry point, a gentleman was posted to control the flow of shoppers – good. * At that Entry point, there was no

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Cash in a Time of COVID

Cash in a Time of COVID

OK, now for some boring stuff. Money is going to become very short over the next few weeks. Sure, businesses have had some assistance from the government to help to pay wages (and I commend the government on their assistance package) but as payments to businesses dry up, things will

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Small Businesses Are Adapting to Lockdowns

Small Businesses Are Adapting to Lockdowns

Humans can be pretty intriguing creatures. As God found out in the Garden of Eden, tell us not to do something and our immediate impulse is to find the most ingenious way to get around it. As governments impose ever-more onerous restrictions on daily life in response to the Chinese

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Beijing Running Scared of COVID-19 Backlash

Beijing Running Scared of COVID-19 Backlash

China is mounting an impressive and so far successful propaganda war trying to reset perceptions that they are to blame for the global COVID-19 pandemic. They are, of course, being assisted by global media who, despite months of calling the virus variations of the Chinese virus, are now lambasting Donald

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Updated List of  ‘Essential’ Services That Can Stay Open

Updated List of ‘Essential’ Services That Can Stay Open

Essential businesses that can stay open are: Accommodation: • Any entity that provides accommodation services for essential workers, isolation/quarantine, and emergency housing Border: • Customs New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries Building and construction: • Any entity involved in building and construction related to essential services and

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New Zealand Outstrips Australia, UK and US with $12 Billion Coronavirus Package for Business and People in Isolation

New Zealand Outstrips Australia, UK and US with $12 Billion Coronavirus Package for Business and People in Isolation

Liz Minchin Veronika Meduna Wes Mountain The Conversation New Zealand will spend NZ$12.1 billion to support businesses, increase benefits for seniors and low-income families, pay people who can’t work because of self-isolation, and boost virus testing and intensive care capacity. The NZ government’s new economic package

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Covid-19 – Government’s Package a Mixed Bag *Updated

Covid-19 – Government’s Package a Mixed Bag *Updated

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union The team spent yesterday afternoon working through the Government’s COVID-19 response package. A couple of the staff are in self-isolation, so we’ve well and truly rehearsed using the virtual technology in preparing this article and our media commentary. In summary,

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Welcome to the Recession

Welcome to the Recession

There has been a lot of talk about this virus thingy. In our daily meanderings we come across opinions covering all scenarios, “It’s not as bad as the flu”, “It’s only old people who die”, “It’s ok, we only have a few cases”, “The Governments aren’t

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