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.
Politics
politicans
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Luxon’s values on show re Zelensky
It is not clear exactly who persuaded Luxon to put Zelensky on his Xmas calling list. It might have been Albo or MFAT, no doubt on orders from the US, who are desperate to keep the illusion of victory alive until after the US Presidential election.
Is the Coalition Government Back Jabbing Māori?
The coalition government robs Pita to pay Paora to appease its voter base.
The Mini Budget Today
Don’t let anyone be fooled this Christmas dinner by what National is setting out today.
Be very afraid for Kainga Ora
So National’s shock and awe campaign is under way. And the first target is Kainga Ora.
National’s complete indifference to climate change
This is the only possible explanation. As well as celebrating all things car National has a pathological hatred of cycleways and walkways and public transport.
Why was Judith Collins appointed as a KC?
Judith Collins has been appointed a Kings Counsel even before she has had time to show her performance as Attorney General and even though previous highly respected lawyers such as David Lange, Geoffrey Palmer and Margaret Wilson were not appointed while serving as Attorneys General.
The week of going backward
National has this week chosen to smash through under urgency legislation that will increase unemployment and interest rates, reduce workers wages and increase the country’s emissions of greenhouse gasses.
Political comeback – Getting the sequencing right
A notably different approach to sequencing political comeback was on show at the VUW post-election seminar last week. Luxon put rebuilding the party first, Hipkins put it last. On policy Luxon was bottom-up and early, Hipkins was top-down and late.
Shame Jones
In one speech Shane Jones has talked about the “hysteria surrounding climate change”, promised to disregard targets agreed to under the Paris Agreement, ordered the halting of work at the Ministry for the Environment, promised the lifting the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration at pace, and said that Mining on Department of Conservation (DoC) and Stewardship land is also in the pipeline.
National’s contradictory stance on Immigration
So Christopher Luxon thinks there is too much immigration. It was not what he was saying last year.
About that First Speech from Luxon as PM
Chris Luxon failed miserably at his first character test as PM.
What does National have against Te Reo?
It may have been coincidental but the day after there were mass protests against the new Government’s actions in undermining te Tiriti o Waitangi it was announced that National would seek to remove bonus payments for Public Servants learning Te Reo. Not only is this petty and vindictive, it may also be a breach of te Tiriti.
Tobacco bans in NZ and the UK.
The decision in 2021 to introduce the smoking ban was a courageous one. Smoking causes many deaths each year and places a strain on the country’s health system. Smoking is addictive and we should do all we can to discourage young people from taking up this habit. This being said, putting a total ban on tobacco sales of people born after 2009 is well-meaning, but would likely have unintended and profoundly negative consequences.
Willis’s budget analysis is either deeply cynical or evidence she does not know what she is talking about
Recent claims by Nicola Willis that the Governments Finances are full of fiscal cliffs is evidence either that National will cynically make baseless claims to attack Labour or that Nicola Willis has no idea about what she is talking about and has not been doing her most basic job of reading and comprehending previous budget documents.
Chris Bishop can’t count
This morning on Q&A and despite being pulled up on it Chris Bishop repeated National’s claim that under the Smokefree reforms there would only be allowed one tobacco retail shop in Northland when there would actually be at least 34.
Just One Term
There is every reason to believe National will be chucked out in 2026.
How not to make friends and influence people
An increase in lung cancer rates and a decrease in the amount that working families receive so that tax credits for landlords can be put in place tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of this Government. Your blood should be boiling by this stage and it is only two days in.
Highlights quoted out of the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement
Some of the more unusual policies from the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement.
The long wait still continues
On Friday, three parties finally signed agreements to gain a slim majority in parliament. What this means is that some time on Monday Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro will be able to swear in the new ministers of the Executive Council. On Monday Labour and the Greens will have their constitutional muzzle removed. On December 5th parliament will lumber back into work. Then the fun begins for this political blogger.
Strong stable Government?
Today may be the day we have a new Government, that is as long as Act and NZ First can resolve their fight over who is to be Deputy Prime Minister.
The baubles of office
Now that the policy negotiations between Act National and NZ First have been concluded talks have progressed to the most sensitive and difficult area, who will get the baubles of office.
The politics of Palestine
Earlier this week the New Zealand Labour Party made a statement on Palestine and it was a good one.
Certainly much better than the positions adopted by its sister Labour parties overseas.
Mergers and acquisitions
Christopher Luxon has always talked the big talk about his corporate experience with mergers and acquisitions. But the media are starting to ask questions and his positive rhetoric may not be well placed.
Negotiation of chaos
So the coalition negotiations are going as well as I thought they would.
War crimes in Palestine
There is a growing recognition that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip constitute war crimes.