As I so often tell BFD readers, Australian politics often seem to serve as a warning to New Zealand. We had Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard; ten years down the track, you get Jacinda Ardern. Our “conservative” Coalition turns teal-blue and tears itself apart with infighting, you lot get National.
Don’t you just love it when mega-rich people start demanding higher taxes? They just can’t help themselves. They have to rub everyone’s noses in the fact that they are so wealthy that they really REALLY should be taxed more because they can afford it. Ignoring the vagaries
The glibness of Ministers Woods and Robertson’s announcements following news of the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter show the pair up to be not only chinless but gutless too. The whole ‘air of inevitability’ throwaway to the destruction of the far-South economy and Meridian Energy profits belies the
Dr David Law nzinitiative.org.nz The Green Party’s “Poverty Action Plan” is all about tackling poverty, although the outcomes may differ from what the party expects. While it is meant to help struggling Kiwis, the plan will instead provoke emigration, disincentivise work and saving and stifle investment in
As Michelle Boag cancelled her National Party membership, she carried out one final act of spite for the party that has feathered her nest for so long; she implicated Michael Woodhouse in the appalling saga over the leaked COVID patient information. She did not need to do this, as she
Can someone recommend somewhere that would be suitable for this Government to collectively self isolate? A place far enough away where they could reflect on the stupidity of their current COVID carry on. Is there any suitable accommodation on the Auckland Islands? Perhaps not such a good idea as the
Dr Muriel Newman nzcpr.com At Labour’s annual conference last weekend, COVID-19 dominated Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s speech: “Our strong health response now gives us an economic head start, the ability to move from responding to Covid-19, to recovering and rebuilding… So today my ask of you is
Dr Oliver Hartwich nzinitiative.org.nz The Green Party has declared its wealth tax will be a red line in any coalition negotiations. And because Labour knows this, the larger party left the door wide open. Rather than ruling out the Greens’ plans, both the Prime Minister and the Minister
I have just watched TVNZ ONE News on Monday night where, among other things, they reported gleefully on the fact that a number of businesses may be up for prosecution for claiming the wage subsidy when they didn’t need it. They behave as if every business owner is a
David Law Research Fellow nzinitiative.org.nz The Green Party’s “Poverty Action Plan” is all about tackling poverty, although the outcomes may differ from what the party expects. While it is meant to help struggling New Zealanders, the plan will instead disincentivise work, saving, investment in education and skills,
The little woman running this country appears to be still obsessed with control. Even though there are countries that are happy to accept Kiwis with tourist dollars to spend, her advice is not to go. Stay and spend those dollars in your own backyard, she says. In one way encouraging
Now that the world is opening up again, the government finds itself under pressure to follow suit, at least in a limited way. Kiwis are now allowed to travel overseas, with the clear understanding that they will face 14 days quarantine on their return (which presumably will not be funded
The Greens have come out with their financial and taxation policy for the election, and there are few surprises. While I sympathise with their desire to eliminate poverty, this proposal will cost New Zealanders dearly but will, in fact, make only a small difference to those at the bottom of
Gerhard Sundborn covidplanb.co.nz The Cook Islands is almost as much a part of New Zealand as the North or South Island. Like Niue and Tokelau, all Cook Islanders hold New Zealand citizenship. The Cooks is home to 17,500 people of whom about 2,500 (15%) are either
Councils are licking their lips over a lolly scramble of free government money for “shovel-ready” projects. Of course, there is no such thing as free money, so alarm bells should start ringing for any rational observer. We need to take a closer look at this before we, the taxpayers, are
Jacinda travelled to Queenstown last week to announce $85 million of government funding, aimed at assisting the town’s Town Centre project and also to help fund stage one of Queenstown’s Arterials projects. These projects are not of immediate assistance to the tourism sector, but will be funded partly
