The problem with conservative politicians is when dealing with a crisis, they’re always inclined towards doing the minimum possible in the hope that it will be enough. The current Government is faced with several crises – including that of inequality, climate, and the rapidly rising cost of living. One response has been to halve the …
The Government has delayed the introduction of its fraught hate speech law reforms, and there’s strong speculation they’ll remain on ice until after the next election. In fact, they may never see the light of day again. This is a win for those who have argued that the reforms are likely to be counterproductive, impinging …
Last week’s shock 1News opinion poll was the final indication, if Bridges needed it, that his chances of eventually taking back the leadership and becoming PM were slim to none. Any feeling that it was worth waiting around to see if Luxon might stumble over the next couple of years could be put to bed. …
Labour is the party of Wellington and its solution to everything is always more Wellington The core public service has grown by 220% since the turn of the century. Our overall population has increased by only 30% in the same period. That’s pretty astonishing. Here is another way of looking at it. In the …
The “Costpocalypse” is finally getting serious Government attention. Yesterday’s announcement of cuts to fuel taxes and cheaper public transport was a response to rising electoral pressure on Labour over the “cost of living crisis” – something the Government had until now refused to accept existed. Last week’s shock opinion poll obviously helped focus minds around …
There was a fair amount of enthusiasm and optimism several years ago when the Government announced a restructure designed to boost public broadcasting. Many hoped it might result in a BBC-like, non-commercial public media organisation that operated on multiple platforms. Labour’s goals made a lot of sense, and the National Party complaints that Labour was …
Suddenly the prospect of Labour being kicked out of power in 2023 no longer seems so absurd. The latest 1News Kantar opinion poll shows Labour dropping to 37 per cent support – the party’s lowest since 2017 and a big change from the historic highs that saw Labour win 50 per cent of the vote …
The Government’s Three Waters reform programme is still in crisis, despite the supposed fix coming in yesterday with the release of yet another report with recommendations for improvements. The Government seems determined to push through a deeply unpopular set of reforms for drinking, waste, and storm water, taking assets and responsibilities off local government and …
Labour went into the 2020 election promising to break up the supermarket duopoly and bring down the price of food. This policy is now essentially dead. The Commerce Commission’s final report into New Zealand’s uncompetitive supermarket sector lets the Government off the hook for taking on the supermarkets and forcing transformational change to this crucial …
Russia invasion of Ukraine Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): How will NZ’s sanctions law against Russia work – and what are the risks? Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Putin’s villainy moves political will on autonomous sanctions Michael Neilson (Herald): Jacinda Ardern beefs up Russia sanctions; 100 banned from NZ travel; moves to block superyachts Richard Harman (Politik): Abramov not on sanctions list: (paywalled) …
Christopher Luxon speech; National Party Chris Trotter (Interest): It’ll take more than tax cuts, Mr Luxon Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Luxon spies an opportunity Claire Trevett (Herald): Christopher Luxon’s big speech was a bit of a yawn – but that was by design(paywalled) Michael Neilson (Herald): National Party leader Christopher Luxon attacks Labour Government; socialism in ‘state of the nation’ address …
Wellington anti-mandate protest Steve Braunias (Herald): From Parliament protests to a foreign war, how the world is scattered and broken (paywalled) Martyn Bradbury (The Platform): Jacinda’s Cossacks: 1913 – 1951 – 2022 Sarb Johal (Guardian): Now the parliament protest is over, New Zealand must ask itself what lay behind it Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Beware the Backlash: The State …
Vaccine mandates, Wellington anti-mandate protest Luke Malpass (Stuff): The protesters who set fire to their own cause Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Questions over how protest grew so large, and on misinformation, loom over the future (paywalled) Ben Thomas (Stuff): A fantasy of connection in the real world Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The day the grounds of parliament burned Richard Harman (Politik): It was always …
Vaccine mandates, Wellington anti-mandate protest Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): Giving a voice to Voices for Freedom Paul Spoonley (The Conversation): The extremism visible at the parliament protest has been growing in NZ for years – is enough being done? Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Good morning NZ – today is the kind of democracy that tastes like pepper spray Steven Cowan: Teanau …
Russia invasion of Ukraine Jordan Bond (RNZ): Government facing pressure to freeze assets of Russian oligarchs Katie Bradford (1News): Ukrainians in NZ urge Govt to seize Russian financial interests Thomas Manch (Stuff): Cabinet considers prohibiting Russian investment in New Zealand Rob Stock (Stuff): NZ investment funds had more than $100 million invested in Russia Rob Stock (Stuff): Why NZ Super …
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Foreign affairs, trade Geoffrey Miller (Democracy Project): Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will change New Zealand’s foreign policy Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Russia’s bloody invasion a test of NZ’s diplomatic levers Chris Trotter (Interest): Russia invades Ukraine: A crime – and a mistake Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Finally, the time has come to make Vladimir Putin pay (paywalled) Luke …
Russia invasion of Ukraine and foreign affairs Josie Pagani (Stuff): Why Russia’s outrageous aggression in Ukraine matters to us all Herald: Ukraine invasion: New Zealand has ‘skin in game’, should rally small, mid-powered nations in opposition – expert Herald: Russia invades Ukraine: Plea for New Zealand to welcome any refugees from war zone with open arms Neil Reid (Herald): Russia invades Ukraine: Putin’s ‘full-scale war’ strike …
Parliamentary Grounds occupation and mandates: Analysis Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Why Parliament’s occupation doesn’t symbolise sudden division in NZ Henry Cooke (Stuff): Convoy occupation: The problem isn’t the protesters. It’s their cars The Free Speech Union (The Platform): Would the man in charge please stand up… and leave Reporters Without Borders: Threats and violence against reporters from New Zealand’s “freedom convoy” protests Morgan Godfery (Stuff): The follies of Camp Covid …
Parliamentary Grounds occupation and mandates: Analysis Toby Manhire (The Spinoff): Divided? Splintered? What the parliament occupation says about New Zealand now Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): The protesters are losing the PR battle Juliet Moses (Herald): Anti-Semitism and the Wellington protesters (paywalled) Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Herald): Covid has caused Māori conflict – healing must unite us again Henry Cooke (Stuff): Grim mood shift at protest as police tighten siege …
Parliamentary Grounds occupation: Analysis Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Our Dark Shadow: Analysing The Platform’s profile of the protesters Anneke Smith (RNZ): Political leaders should ‘get off their high horses’ – Jim Bolger Luke Malpass (Stuff): Occupiers give Government a filthy PR boost as Labour and National agree on vaccine mandate strategy Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): The anatomy of an occupation – how did we get here? …
Parliamentary Grounds occupation Curia Market Research (The Platform): Parliamentary Protest Poll Results February 2022 Liam Hehir (Patreon): What I saw in Wellington David Fisher (Herald): Why ignoring Parliament protesters is dangerous – and will only make it worse(paywalled) John A.Z. Moore (Democracy Project): Liberal New Zealand versus the protesting “mob” David Farrar: So who is at the protest and why? Jack Tame (Herald): End Covid anti vaccine mandate …