Category: imported_weekly

It was just three week’s ago that we heard the sort of news that sends a chill down the spine of every parent – a fifteen year old schoolgirl reported missing. Tragically Marie Davis was buried on Thursday. Her killer remains on the loose.

The Maori Party is calling for Maori seats to be established in Auckland local authority areas. They believe that the creation of Maori wards or a Maori seat quota would ensure that “tangata whenua play a meaningful role in governance” and that the Maori vision of “partnership” is honoured (See Herald ).

Prime Minister Helen Clark is right when she says blocking the sale of a 40 percent interest in Auckland International Airport is a defining issue. Such political intervention is arrogant, damaging and reckless. It defines New Zealand as a state controlled economy.

The climate change debate is forever shifting as science casts long shadows of doubt on the predictions of global catastrophe.

Last year, the Human Rights Commission warned that the Electoral Finance Act would have “a chilling effect on the expression of public opinion during an election year”.

How big should our government be? To what extent do we want politicians to decide how we should be living our lives? That, one hopes, may be an issue in this year’s general election.

On Tuesday international “race relations day” - a day to promote the elimination of racial discrimination – will be celebrated by schools from all over the country.

I have just returned from an historic meeting of more than 500 people from all around the world who gathered in New York to address the question of whether man-made global warming is really threatening the future existence of our planet. In attendance were some 200 scientists, economists and climate authorities, highly respected experts who are standing up to defend science against the tide of political opportunism, media dramatisation, and crowd hysteria that is propelling the global warming debate. In doing so these scientists and economists are putting their livelihoods at risk - their research grants, tenure, and ability to get published have all been threatened. Some have even faced death threats for speaking out against the global warming alarmism that is sweeping the world.

The freedom of speech, including the freedom to criticise the government, has always been central to the healthy functioning of a democracy. The underlying principle of a democracy is that the ultimate power rests with the people, and the underlying virtue is that the transition from one administration to another occurs quickly and without bloodshed. This is in stark contrast to dictatorships where change is measured in generations rather than years, and the catalyst for change is revolution not election.

A “rich prick”. That’s what Finance Minister Michael Cullen called the Leader of the National Party two months ago. That vitriolic attack during a Parliamentary debate revealed the Labour Party’s loathing of capitalism (and how rattled they are about their declining popularity).