Category: imported_weekly

The Budget is an annual summary or plan of the intended revenues and expenditures of a government, providing a public blueprint of their economic agenda.

It has often been said that you make your own luck, and when you read Australia ’s 2006 budget it is easy to understand why they have been called the “lucky” country.

Our capacity to imagine dire outcomes is infinite. From the creaking of the house in the dead of night evoking vivid images of an approaching intruder, to a delayed arrival bringing fears of dreadful traffic accidents, we commonly imagine the worst.

Last year I presented a petition to Parliament calling for the introduction of a national screening programme for prostate cancer for men. As a result of that petition, I will be making a submission to the Health Select Committee on Wednesday.

In his fascinating 1998 treatise on economics “Eat the Rich”, PJ O’Rourke investigated why some parts of the world are rich and others are poor. He compared the state of affairs in a range of countries from Cuba to Hong Kong , Albania to the USA , and concluded that the whole miracle of the modern industrial economy is based on the wealth-creating attributes of hard work, education, and responsibility, along with property rights, the rule of law and a democratic government.

Emily, like 180,000 or so other New Zealanders, is on a hospital waiting list.

To be successful, political movements need effective long-term strategies. This week observers would have witnessed two tactical steps in long-term march of New Zealand towards Maori sovereignty and a separate Maori nation.

In a sense, New Zealand is one of the richest countries on earth. We have a great climate, beautiful countryside, and a more leisurely pace of life. Our people are friendly, hard working and caring. We are close to each other in a way that comes from being a small country remote from the rest of the world.

When governments become embroiled in scandal, there comes a point where the confidence of the public, begins to wane. If the scandals continue, a “tipping point” approaches whereby voters begin to question the capability of an administration to govern effectively.

New Zealand is a property owning democracy. As Kiwis, we subscribe to the belief that our home is our castle. Property rights play an integral part in our common law tradition and are enshrined in Article II of the Treaty of Waitangi.