This is the opposite of what they should be doing. And instead of figuring out how to live within their means, they just demand more resources… even though it never works. Britain tried its 98 per cent tax experiment in the 1970s and spent a decade regretting it.
The use of alternative payment methods during periods of conflict is not new. But the direction is becoming clearer. When trust erodes, systems do not collapse overnight, they morph and adapt. Quietly at first and then all at once.
Luxon campaigned on eliminating “wasteful spending”. While this specific funding may not technically fit that strict definition, many would argue its justification. Given this precedent, how long before this benevolence prompts other marae to submit similar claims?
Lazy, grifting public servants are about to pay themselves even more.
Then acts shocked it attracted organised crime. A dodgy darts economy.
International visitors contributed $861 million to the South Island economy, supporting tourism operators, hospitality businesses, and the wider regional economy.
What is missing is transparent accountability. A system where states raise what they spend would encourage competition in efficiency, innovation, and value.
The most expensive electricity on Earth is in countries with ‘cheapest’ sources of electricity.
The roads were never going to build themselves. Turns out, they’re not going to be built at all – at least, not the way they were promised.
Two coordinated hit pieces on the coalition’s fuel response landed on the same day – one from the Spinoff, one from the Post. Both missed the point entirely.
Foul-mouthed and fiery, Caleb Hammer is bringing sound financial advice and personal accountability to the YouTube-TikTok generation.
At least he’d only piss his own money against the wall.
My personal perspective on all this is much darker than Damien Grant’s. We have consistently failed to meet the challenges of the future over the last 25 years and each decade (or even half-decade) has felt more constrained, stressful and gloomy than the one before it.
