Toitu te Tiriti
Recent events have shown overwhelming support for the treaty among Iwi, the willingness for David Seymour to create chaos for political advantage, and that Christopher Luxton is not in control of the Government.
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
Ratana and The Treaty of Waitangi
“My understanding is a guy came out as a prophet of his own religious movement in the 1870s. And politicians feel a strange obligation to be there every year. I’ve never felt that.” David Seymour is shallow as a birdbath.
A modest proposal on Waitangi day
While the Treaty of Waitangi continues to be battered back and forth, the clear reality is that Maori, after signing the infuriating Treaty, were systematically dispossessed of their land. Any reading of the history of colonial treaties shows that treaties were the primary method of dispossession and were designed to be broken. And invariably they were.
The “New Zealand model” for prostitution liberalisation doesn’t work
The Women’s Rights Party New Zealand and the Women’s Declaration International – New Zealand recently made a joint submission to Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls
The Apparatus behind the Curtain
The release from the Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa around tobacco industry interference was a glimpse behind the curtain into a troubling reality.
It has been a long week for Casey Costello
Recent disclosure of the actions of associate Minister of Health Casey Costello raises the extraordinary possibility that British American Tobacco may be having an undue influence on the setting of the Government’s smoking policies.
ACT’s performative FedFoke virtual signalling
Take your dirty boots off at the door ya numpties.
Christopher Luxon is no John Key
Yesterday in Parliament Christopher Luxon showed that he is struggling on the job.
Does the Western World really want to starve Palestine?
Western Nations including New Zealand have suspended urgently needed aid for Palestine after revelations that a tiny minority of UNRHA workers may have been involved in Hamas raids and despite the UNHRA taking immediate action to address issues arising.
Shaw stands down as Greens co-leader
James Shaw has announced that he is standing down as co-leader of the Green Party and a leadership process will be triggered. He will stay on in Parliament in the meantime.
The week Luxon lost his moral mandate to lead
The last week has shown how Christopher Luxon has no understanding of New Zealand’s history and no appreciation about how dangerous Act’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill is.
Economy improves dramatically thanks to Labour
This week there were two pieces of economic news showing a dramatic improvement credit for which should be given to the last Labour Government.
The Government is planning to cut tobacco excise duty
Hot on the heels of the Government’s walk back from the previous Government’s smoke free policies is the disclosure that the Government is considering halting increases to excise duties on tobacco. And the Government tried to hide this.
Are Road User Charges for every vehicle actually fair?
New Zealand is one of the most car-reliant and petroleum-reliant countries on earth. So how we are taxed to travel on land has huge equity implications.
Which side are you on?
The Act Party is seeking to undermine te Tiriti o Waitangi and ferment racial hatred and division while nominally seeking unity. And National clearly has no idea what to do about the situation.
Labour and the Democrats
Both the US Democrats and NZ Labour need to take hard looks at themselves. Failure is not inevitable. But there is now only one English-speaking centre-left democracy left in the world: that is the state of where we are now.
The best Electoral System that money can buy
The Independent Electoral Review Panel has recommended changes to the electoral system including the banning of any donations unless made by enrolled voters, a cap on the size of those donations and a requirement that third parties disclose all large donations that they receive.
Why does National hate EVs?
At a time when we need cool heads and leaders who understand the enormity of the problem that is climate change and the consequences of getting our response right we are getting this retrograde culture war from people who should know better.
NZ First does not want National to have good relations with Kiingi Tuuheitia
The day after Christopher Luxon made the pilgrimage to meet with Kiingi Tuuheitia and try and calm feelings ahead of the Weekend’s hui at Ngaruwahia to discuss the Government’s attacks on Te Tiriti and Te Reo Shane Jones went onto Morning Report and applied the blowtorch to Luxon’s attempt to keep matters calm.
Ghahraman goes
Green MP Golriz Ghahrahman has resigned from Parliament.
What If Trump Wins Again?
New Zealand has gained prosperity over 40 years within a free flow of trade under peacetime supported by minor attacks to shipping and planes, low international trade costs such as tariffs, and confidence that international trade disputes will be settled by law rather than by might is at risk: all of that required a United States President prepared to support that.
Not all Americans are Neocons
But the ones that run US foreign policy are. Matthew Hooton in a typical smear wants to label Helen Clark as anti-American because she warned that involving us in attacking Houthis was a ”slippery slope.” She’s not and he’s wrong.
The Coming Oil Crisis
An expanding Middle East war that puts the Red Sea and Suez tanker route at risk is a major risk to us because it could hit the global price of oil.
Dirty Politics 2024?
Some of the usual suspects… how would we know what is really going on?
Our Resistance
There are still groups of people in New Zealand who can and do organise to resist the damage of the right.
Genocide in Gaza
South Africa has taken a case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza to the International Court of Justice. A group of prominent New Zealand lawyers have asked the New Zealand Government to join South Africa in support of their application. I think we should.
Atlas smirked
A George Monbiot article in the Guardian made me wonder what effect the Atlas Network is having on New Zealand politics through the Taxpayer’s Union. Publicly available information suggests considerable funding is being made available and that the current Government’s priorities are precisely those that the Atlas Network would approve of.
Darkness Towards Peace
Can Israel lose a moral battle in Gaza and yet still win?
Corbyn was right about Palestine
In the United Kingdom Keir Starmer’s refusal to call for a cease fire in Gaza and his claim that holding back food and water for Gaza was justified has put him increasingly at odds with Labour members and MPs. Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn’s expulsion as a Labour MP is puzzling, particularly given that his stance on Palestine is increasingly justified.
New Year’s Resolution
With the left out of power, one of the most useful things we can do in 2024 is simply let people know where they can join in and do good.
The Useful Rich
New Zealand’s rich are endlessly fascinating, but as wealth concentrates ever tighter we are poorer.
Wanaka Has No Crime
The purpose of everyone in New Zealand is to keep Wanaka pure.
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.
National wants to hide huge potential rates rises caused by canning of Three Waters
Someone should tell the Taxpayer’s Union. Some Local Councils are planning to put rates up by double digit figures. And the Government is planning on exempting them from discussing this with ratepayers.
NZ policy is consistent about Russian invasion
Unlike Mike Smith and other noisy members of the imperialist cohort, I applaud that NZ foreign policy has remained consistent in upholding UN and ICC policies against invasions and forced annexations. Ardern, Hipkins and now Luxon have all said the same thing.Supporting the UN charter has massively reduced war casualties over the last 70 years. Clearly the Russian Federation finds this constraining.
Peak NZ Liberal
As National dismantles with speed some of the institutional reforms made by the last Labour Government the concern is that we may have witnessed the peak in progressive influence.