Politics
Everything about politics
News Briefing: 20 May 2025
Republished with Permission Author: Bryce Edwards TE PĀTI MĀORI SUSPENSION Matthew Hooton: Can Luxon lead on TPM shambles? Russell Palmer (RNZ): Parliament faces a debate primed for filibuster in Budget week Derek Cheng (Herald): Te Pāti Māori voices in Parliament on Budget Day in doubt after compromise talks fail (paywalled)
Brooke van Velden’s Four-Letter Bomb Exposes the Left’s Hypocrisy and Policy Vacuum
In the end, van Velden’s word wasn’t the scandal. The real scandal is a left so intellectually bankrupt they’d rather debate diction than policy. They’ve lost the plot and, thanks to van Velden’s deft move, everyone can see it.
Why Do We Politicise Science?
Notice how language drifts. No one ever talks about ‘The Politics’. But we do talk about ‘The Science’.
Is the Surveillance State Warping Our Minds?
Being watched constantly is bad for mental health.
News Briefing: 19 May 2025
Republished with Permission Author: Bryce Edwards PAY EQUITY, THE C-WORD Andrea Vance (Sunday Star Times): I said what I said. And I’m sorry... sort of (paywalled) Tracy Watkins (Sunday Star Times): When all hell breaks loose, and politics becomes theatre (paywalled) Jesse Mulligan: Thinking about the c-word
Bryce Edwards’ Twee Take on Tobacco Lobbying Misses the Mark
This is classic Edwards: cherry-picking facts to fit a narrative while ignoring the messy reality of policy-making and the equally potent influence of his preferred lobbyists.
Ian Taylor’s Pay Equity Whinge: A Masterclass in Missing the Point
The pay equity debate didn’t sink because of one word. It sank because the left have nothing else to offer. And you, Ian Taylor, are too busy polishing their shoes to see it.
The Red Cross Is Not a Bystander
This is not humanitarianism. It is hypocrisy. The ICRC needs to answer for its dereliction of duty.
Libertarians, Empathy, and the Path to Real Reform
Changing the culture won’t happen overnight. As I’ve written before, real reform starts in conversations at work, at church and at the footy club – not in Canberra.
The One App That Zuck Won’t Touch
An Australian startup aims to remove online abuse in real time. Meta refuses to touch it.
News Briefing: 16 May 2025
Republished with Permission Author: Bryce Edwards PARLIAMENT, PAY EQUITY, THE C-WORD Joel MacManus (Spinoff): Echo Chamber: A C-bomb explodes in parliament Cherie Howie (Herald): Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters blasts behaviour in Parliament as ‘degradation’ Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Inside ‘the House of Chaos’: Six days that saw Parliament
Brooke van Velden’s C-Bomb Shakes Up Parliament While the Usual Suspects Clutch Their Pearls
The lesson here? If the legacy media wants to sling slurs and gendered insults, they’d better be ready for the blowback. And if they’re going to cry foul when someone like van Velden fights back, they might want to take a long, hard, look in the mirror.
Face of the Day
“I think Brooke van Velden felt the outrage that many women in the parliament felt this week when that word is used a term of abuse for women, no matter what side of politics you are on, we should say it is not ok” – Willis