ACT Party Politics in Full Sentences, We’re Number One The left love to say we are lightly taxed compared with European welfare states. But what about the countries that we do business with most? Well, New Zealand is the most heavily-taxed country in the Asia-Pacific. Central and
It has come to the attention of TheBFD that a few weeks ago there was a meeting between NZTA and farmers, farm contractors, trucking firms and other interested parties such as fire service volunteers. This took place near Christchurch and by all accounts, things got quite testy. The purpose of
The one topic that is screwing society up more than any other is climate change or global warming or whatever the latest catchphrase is. Let me make it clear at the start we are all aware of climate change. There have been ice ages and warming periods and floods and
George When the Government justifies its petrol taxes as essential for transport infrastructure it could be seen as a legitimate vindication for the horrendous gouging of the motorists’ wallets. After all, if we want good safe roads they come at a cost. At least that’s the line of BS
Assuming there are no major changes in the New Zealand political landscape before November next year, we can look forward to seeing Bridges and Ardern in the usual televised leaders’ debates. There’s little doubt that Ardern will still be Labour leader. There’s no way the intellectually challenged serial
The previous government already had a solid infrastructure programme in place when the current coalition came into power. One of the first things the COL did was to cancel most of those infrastructure projects, particularly the roading projects. This government’s ideology, led by the Greens, was that roads would
Based on the BS we’ve seen in the House of Commons for the past three years and the never-ending demands for another referendum because …”we were misled about the referendum” (which was just adding more BS on top of BS), the only appropriate outcome for the UK now
Press release: New Conservatives Brexit is taking its toll on the people of Britain as the politicians charged with representing them have continually failed to honour the referendum and the expressed desire of the voting population. In New Zealand, we know how that feels as no government in New Zealand
Since the White Island tragedy, you might have noticed that it’s now been renamed by media and others as Whakaari / White Island. This most likely also hasn’t escaped the attention of Karl du Fresne, who writes about the stealth attempts by the media to change New Zealand to
Kiwis Sean Topham and Ben Guerin have emerged as two of the heroes of Boris Johnson’s victory. They came up with the social media campaign that included the infamous Boris Johnson ‘Love actually’ parody. They have been dubbed the ’24 hour meme machines’ and have been described as young
I met a homeless person today. Yes, really. She is in her late 40s, with grown-up children (who do not live with her). She split with her partner a few years ago and has probably about a 10% house deposit saved from the sale of their jointly owned house.
Following the National Party’s announcement that Christopher Luxon was to be their candidate for the Botany seat, there was the usual cluster of media activity including speculation about him being parachuted into the electorate (like John Key was a few years ago), with an eye to the leadership, but
“The polling data was clear and voluminous on this point long before the election. Corbyn is the most unpopular opposition leader since records began. And though we may not like it, we know that voters’ assessment of the party leaders plays a huge part in their decision. Labour knew it
Watching the UK election and how it unfolded induced something of a longing to a return to the FPP system of voting. Whether it has appeal or not, what the UK election showed is that it is easier to get the desired result if enough people want it. It avoids
