Economy
New Ferries Could Be Made in Tasmania
Out of all the mess and panic of state government reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic, a glimmer of sense is at least emerging in Tasmania. Like New Zealand, a sparsely-populated, remote island lacking substantial public transport networks, Tasmania is well-placed to avoid the worst effects of the
Tax Is Not My Idea of Love
Who votes for these people? The Greens, discussing their taxation policy on TVNZ, are actually quoted as saying “Tax Is Love”. Marama Davidson actually said that. I seriously wonder what planet she is on; this type of campaigning is likely to be a big turn-off for voters, even some
BFD Political Corner: Election 2020 NZ First Party
BFD Political corner: Election 2020 is a series that features political speeches, political ads and political campaigns on Social media from a range of different political parties in the lead up to the New Zealand election. Today we have the NZ First Party: Save Tiwai Public Meeting in Invercargill Please
There Is No Legal Right to Free Quarantine
Alexander Gillespie University of Waikato Welcome home – now here’s your invoice. The debate over whether New Zealand should charge arriving Kiwis for quarantine has divided opinion, but one thing is clear: citizens and permanent residents have the right to return home. However, like many other liberties, this right can
Dashed Hopes and a Journalist Called Hopewell
Cathy Buckle cathybuckle.co.zw Dear Family and Friends, I write this letter from a bitterly cold Zimbabwe where tension is high and people are anxious. There are 300,000 civil servants in Zimbabwe. A month ago they were promised a “cushioning” allowance of US$75 a month for the
Why Didn’t the 1958 and 1918 Pandemics Destroy the Economy?
Ryan McMaken mises.org Ryan McMaken is a senior editor at the Mises Institute. Ryan has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado and was a housing economist for the State of Colorado. He is the author of Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State
Shovel Ready-No
Last week in Parliament both Judith Collins and Gerry Brownlee called on the Government to release their list of the 800 projects they say are “shovel ready”. As I pointed out in my previous article, petty squabbling in the Cabinet Room, otherwise known as the Coalition Childcare Centre, plus red
We Can Protect Health and the Environment Without Sacrificing the Economy
This government is not comfortable with a trade-off between COVID-19 and the economy or the environment and the economy. It’s either one extreme or the other with no meeting in the middle. One whiff of community spread and we will be sent back to lockdown, region by
Why a Safer Border System Will Help Rural NZ
Dr Eric Crampton Nathan Smith nzinitiative.org.nz Most of the country is still reeling from the drastic lockdown response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The major cities are hurting, but it’s not until one travels to rural New Zealand that the simmering economic issues appear. Chief economist Eric
Alarmism
Dr Muriel Newman nzcpr.com Fear is a natural survival instinct and arguably more motivating than logic and reason. It can also be used to great effect to shift the mindset of communities and nations. While such manipulation is, of course, not uncommon, what is surprising is how blind societies
Young Graduates Sold a Dog’s Life
It’s all too easy to laugh at today’s generation of uni graduates as intolerant snowflakes, but, to paraphrase Tolkien, it’s increasingly likely to be pity that stays my mockery. Today’s youngsters have been let down at every turn by their elders: mollycoddled by their parents, brainwashed
China at the Turning Point
As I posted recently, much of China’s recent belligerence is the result of the innate paranoia of communist regimes combined with the Middle Kingdom’s vanity and insularity. A “toxic mix of hubris, overreach, impetuosity and emerging panic” is gripping the Xi regime, observes commentator John Lee. Beijing realises
Bread and Circuses
Prof Worzel It was a tactic used during the last days of the Roman Empire. The ruling powers provided free ‘bread and circuses’ to the people to distract them from the harsh reality that resources both moral and physical were running perilously low. Rome’s once renowned military might was
New Zealand Needs Competence, Not Cuddles
It’s no secret that the international legacy media just adore Jacinda Ardern. And why wouldn’t they? A young, female socialist – Ardern ticks nearly every intersectional box. Except ethnicity, perhaps, but she does try to make up for that by playing dress-ups in ethnic costume with all the