Category: imported_guest
One of the most volatile pieces of law in our society is up for review again. The public has till 29th of October to make submissions on the review of child support led by Revenue Minister Peter Dunne.
What is freedom of expression? Without freedom to offend, it ceases to exist, wrote Salman Rushdie.
History tells us that when a government takes on a trade union, there can be only one outcome. In 1912, William Massey’s government famously crushed a strike by Waihi gold miners. The following year, the same administration recruited special mounted constables from rural areas – dubbed “Massey’s Cossacks” because of their riding skills – to subdue striking waterfront workers.
Bilderberg. Whether you believe it’s part of a sinister conspiracy which will lead inexorably to one world government or whether you think it’s just an innocent high-level talking shop, there’s one thing that can’t be denied: it knows which way the wind is blowing.
Public submissions on the government’s Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill may now be made until the 19th of November. Then, after those who wish to speak to their submissions have done so, the select committee hearing the submissions will have to report back to parliament towards the end of February. Presumably this overrides the Prime Minister’s statement that the new bill would be passed into law by Christmas.
Te Atiawa, a Marlborough iwi, proposes a Maori fishing reserve (mataitai) over 99% of Tory Channel in the Marlborough Sounds. This mataitai takes many rights from many people. It robs our children of their future.
The worrying thing about being an economist is that every decision becomes an economic decision. It causes paralytic seizures every time I step into a shop. Just ask the wife. But just occasionally, it does give you a socially useful perspective.
Every 20-30 years the unfashionable, with a few tweaks, becomes fashionable. Surprisingly, this 'fashion cycle' seems to apply equally public policy and even to politics – think NZ First. It all starts with an 'outsider' breaking the mold and if the movement has legs, it may reach a tipping point or 'precipice,' with other early adopters jumping in. If there's real momentum, a critical mass is reached turning what was once outlandish into 'mainstream.'
For the last couple of weeks we have been expecting the appearance of the government’s draft foreshore and seabed bill. Usually reliable rumours told us that it would be going to the Cabinet in the last week or two, and would then be introduced to the House. For some reason there has been a delay, and rumour has it that it may be another couple of weeks at least before it is introduced. I know not what the reason may be. It would be nice to think that the government is actually coming to its senses, that the Prime Minister and Attorney-General are actually beginning to realise what a monstrous crime they are proposing to commit, and what the public reaction will be to this theft of our common heritage and solemn recognition that New Zealand is henceforward and increasingly an apartheid state[1].
The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition has asked the High Court to rule on the validity of NIWA's "Seven Station" New Zealand Temperature Record (NZTR) that features prominently on its website and is used in information it passes on to schools and is also used to support the emission trading scheme, resource consent applications for wind farms and many other key aspects of policies designed to “fight climate change”.