Who funds the Taxpayer’s Union?
Six months late and in the middle of the Holiday Period the Tax Payers Union has filed its election year accounts suggesting that it received $2,628,721 in donations that year. And there is no indication of who from.
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
President Trump makes a new Middle East Possible
U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump makes more things possible in the Middle East than the Biden administration.
Costello hands out free vapes
The Government has announced that it will be supplying vaping starter kits to stop smoking services. It is not known who will be the suppliers of these kits or on what terms.
2024 in review
It is that time of year when during the brief hiatus of civilisation known as the holidays we get the time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months.
Wage theft – now that is a real crime
In Australia, the Fair Work Act is enhanced to provide for jail time and large fines for individuals and companies who deliberately indulged in wage theft. It is a Federal act with investigative powers. Our members ‘Theft by Employers’ bill looks pathetic by comparison. But worth passing in its 3rd reading. It would be a “real tough on crime” act – not weak like Mark Mitchell’s tee-shirt snatch.
The absurdity of National’s Gang Patch ban
It did not take long for the first example of the absurdity of the Government’s gang patch ban to appear.
The Pogues wrote the best Christmas song ever
It is Christmas time and the eternal debate about who wrote the best Christmas song ever is being debated yet again. For me there is only one possible contender.
Government sabotages its Emissions Reduction Plan
Under its latest Emissions Reduction Plan the Government is placing major reliance on processing of orgnic waste and landfill gas capture. But it has quietly recently cut funding for the Waste Minimisation Fund by $177 million over 4 years.
Much ado about nothing
There has been recent controversy because a District Court Judge and a renowned surgeon in a private setting chose to criticise NZ First policies.
This govt. legislation will change our country like never before – learn about it like your country depends on it – because it does
Just after Christmas, submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill will close. But a far more sinister Bill underlles it all… and Seymour is hoping you might not notice
Is Luxon on a roll?
Or about to be rolled? Word has it that Chris Bishop is waiting in the wings, as Luxon’s favourability rating drops below Hipkins.
Who would have thought that austerity would stuff up the economy
The HYEFU has been released and the results are pretty ugly suggesting that National’s austerity measures are having a negative effect on the economy.
When publicity stunts go bad
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently posted a picture of him helping with a gift box initiative for the poor. But at the same time he is overseeing the cessation of funding for food banks.
The real purpose of the Ministry for Regulation
ACT is finishing what Roger Douglas started 40 years ago.
Labour loses confidence in the Speaker
Gerry Brownlee has performed linguistic summersaults to conclude that private entities having their pet projects listed for preferential treatment in the Fast Track Approvals Bill do not constitute a private benefit.
Luxon & Willis Double Down on Ferries Debacle
Government sneakily shifts the numbers on the cancelled Kiwirail i-Rex project from $3b to $4b as Luxon and Willis defend their plan for a plan.
Clusterfreak
Yesterday’s replacement ferry announcement by Nicola Willis suggests that very little progress has been made in securing replacement Cook Island ferries.
The unusual feature of Taxpayers Union’s latest Curia poll
Unlike two other recent polls the latest Taxpayer’s Union poll reports a surge to Act happening during the time the Treaty Principles Bill was introduced.
Atlas Network in New Zealand
The similarities between the Atlas Network modus operandi and our government’s policies appear strident and unsettling.
Are Lester Levy and Shane Reti “cooking the books?”
See for yourself.
Unacceptable
It appears that the Government’s intent to politicise youth offending by making an elite few dress up in army uniforms and march around in an effort to solve a lifetime of neglect is not working out so well.
Tax and the Splintering World
The resurgence of the tax debate reflects impacts of neo-liberal economic policy and developments in the global economy over the last half century. As Labour considers further its approach to tax policy, this wider context should be considered
AT is to be gutted
The Government announced reform of AT, effectively conceding that the behemouth National created in 2010 was the wrong structure.
Luxon Takes A Beating
Five recent polls show that Kiwis are tired of the Coalition government, but will the trendline hold?
Electric Shock
New Zealand is one of the slowest countries in the developed world to transition from combustion to electric vehicles. The shocks we are seeing in Europe to car makers and car buyers herald more trouble ahead.
Hipkins’ Conference speech
Text of Chris Hipkins’ speech to the 2024 Labour Party Conference.
Curia exited RANZ because Family First are unbalanced
David Farrar’s company Curia abruptly exited the Research Association of New Zealand (RANZ) in August. It was triggered by a complaint about the fairness of the wording of a question in a April poll. This was a really bad poll, and this question a particularly egregious breach of any fairness. The question was paid for by Family Fi(r)st.
Reti secretly wants to privatise Health
Shane Reti has said publicly that privatising health is not his overt policy. Which suggests strongly that it is his covert policy, especially given that he wants to increase the relationship with and outsourcing to private operators.
Economy Nose Dives
The economy is tanking and Treasury has downgraded the forecasts again after “the government inherited finances in better shape than expected” in January. So who is Nicola Willis blaming, and Winston Peters too?
National’s dodgy health announcements
National yesterday made great fanfare about an extra $30 million being spent on doctors and nurses. But news today of 1,500 health job cuts in the pipeline clearly shows how the extra funds are to be sourced.
If Seymour succeeds what happens to Ngāpuhi’s Treaty claim?
If David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill is passed it may complicate Ngapuhi’s outstanding claim.
END GAME
What is the game plan for the Coalition government? What characteristics can we observe and what is the “end game?”
A guide to making a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill
Want to make a submission opposing David Seymour’s dog whistle Treaty Principles Bill? Here’s how.
The Left Trumped?
We woke up last week to the post-mortem on the US election. How and why Trump won, and their implications for political alignments everywhere, are front and centre. A fundamental issue, explicitly identified when Trump won in 2016, is the presence of large sections of the working class vote into the Trump camp. So why has that happened – again?
The Fast Death of Our Major Forestry Mills
2024 is the worst-ever year for our forest export industry as a whole, with most of our largest sawmills closing and the loss of hundreds of jobs.
On the whining and treason of David Seymour
In recent days, David Seymour has been whining that no-one is seriously debating his stupid little bill to supposedly try to redefine what the Treaty means. But it is the constitutional arrangements of this country that this bill attacks. The bill is essentially treasonous. It also isn’t worth debating. Prepare against a dictatorship of the executive.