Category: Economic Issues
Jacinda Ardern understands only too well that panic and fear are powerful instruments of political control. By creating widespread alarm that climate change is an emergency or a life or death crisis, she is clearing the way to transform New Zealand into a socialist state - with her firmly in control.
To be effective, welfare policy should have incentives to transition beneficiaries into work. But New Zealand has long lagged behind best practice - as the current situation, where well over 200,000 able-bodied people are on benefits at a time when the country is crying out for workers, demonstrates only too clearly.
The extraordinary rise of our regulatory state, comprised of red-tape and rules which can send the wrong signals and create woeful inefficiencies, has become public enemy number one. Our regulatory superstructure becomes vastly more opaque, year upon year, as each successive government tries to control more and more of our behaviours.
Under her controlling regime, Jacinda Ardern is planning to not only take away our right to criticise others, but also our right to criticise her and her Party. Including ‘political opinion’ as a protected characteristic in hate speech laws puts New Zealand on a course to become the North Korea of Oceania.
Punished, But Not Prevented: Though bitterly contested by those firmly convinced that the Christchurch Mosque Shootings represent something more than the crime of a Lone Wolf terrorist, the Royal Commission’s finding that no state agency could have prevented Brenton Tarrant from carrying out his deadly intent – except by chance – is correct.
Without any mandate from New Zealanders, the Ardern Government has decided to turn this symbolic Indigenous Rights Declaration into an action plan for our country. Her ultimate goal is to elevate Maori tribal leaders to the status of a ruling aristocracy. Representing 15 percent of the population, they will exercise 50 percent of the Government’s decision-making power and control the vast economic resources that would accompany such a role.
Good law is that which is well defined and certain, and which does not favour any one ethnicity or part ethnicity over all others. Nowhere is this more important than when it comes to the provision and control of water – the essence of life. As it stands now, this Water Services Bill fails the standard. It vests unspecified power, control and revenue in the hands of unelected, unaccountable and unchallengeable people over all other New Zealanders.
Treasury and the IRD advised against extending the bright-line test and removing interest deductibility for rental property investors. That’s why Labour’s housing bombshell is so dangerous – it creates uncertainty when the economy is already under serious threat.
These measures have nothing to do with ‘fixing’ the market – they’re about punishing those who are deemed to be the ‘cause’ of the collective woes of those who feel disenfranchised and are little more than a tarted up exercise in social scapegoating.
In reality the Government is clearly struggling to keep us safe. They must know their propaganda will only work for so long, and that even with the press in their pocket, the finger of blame will eventually turn onto them.