Articles in ‘Current Affairs’

Groundswell NZs main focus continues to be on the unworkable regulations impacting the rural sector. Like increasing numbers of New Zealanders, farmers have felt badly maligned by this current government and its policies. Like the protestors in Wellington we also have been ignored by the Government and called denigrating names. We can empathize with their frustration. Whether…

Disturbing images from Parliament, where protestors are being arrested, strike a frightening tone for Kiwis' free speech, says Jonathan Ayling, Free Speech Union Spokesperson. “Convoy 2022, which gathered on the lawn of Parliament in opposition to the Government's vaccine mandates on Tuesday has been clearly out of line in many ways, and beyond the pale of free speech. Yet, their…

Last October, Free to Be Church, a group of NZ Church leaders, announced that they would be challenging the NZ government in the courts regarding religious freedom and COVID restrictions. With the implementation of the traffic light regime, things have become worse and the need to address this matter more pressing. “The government has not made the process easy so far,” says…

Dr Garth Cooper has devoted his career to helping fellow Māori but he now finds himself in the gun over his opinions about science and indigenous knowledge. Graham Adams reports from the front lines of the culture wars. New Zealanders like their heroes talented and modest and preferably devoted to public service as well. Sir Edmund Hillary is the exemplar of that breed and very…

A Government that ignores reasoned opposition from local government by imposing 50/50 iwi-council co-governance through its Three Waters Plan is yet another step closer to a dictatorship, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today. A Government that ignores reasoned opposition from local government by imposing 50/50 iwi-council co-governance through its Three Waters Plan is…

New Zealand is shifting to a new period in our Covid response. We are no longer pursuing a strategy of elimination. We need to rethink our economic strategy. National has today released ‘Back in Business’ – the plan that we believe the Government should be implementing immediately, given the unwelcome return of Covid into the community. National believes the business sector…

You may have missed it but the Water Services Act that became law a week ago quietly added to legislation water “partnership” while establishing a framework “to provide transparency about the performance of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater networks and network operators”. Water “partnership” was legalised by a “Te Mana o te Wai” clause, that functions like a Treaty…

Students are expected to pay FULL, UNSUBSIDISED FEES for the sub-par education that they have received online. That's upwards of $9,000 for pdf slides and pre-recorded videos. WE WANT CHANGE! The University of Auckland claims that most of the fees paid by students go towards laboratories, campus expenses, recreational centre use and other practical overhead costs. All of which…

Petition to eradicate ‘Aotearoa’ from official use Lobby group Hobson’s Pledge is pushing for the name “Aotearoa” to be removed from official use until a binding referendum is held to decide whether or not to proceed with changing the name of New Zealand. Hobson’s Pledge spokespersons Casey Costello and Don Brash launched a petition today calling on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern…

Groundswell NZ is a volunteer group of farmers and rural professionals advocating for our Grass Roots farmers and rural communities. They recently took to the streets in the biggest protest since Bastion Point and converged on all the main centers nationwide in a convey of tractors – pushed to the limit with the number of regulations and perceived unworkable legislation that they…

New Zealanders are being left out of important decisions by the Labour Government, and National is launching a series of campaigns for Kiwis to ‘Demand the Debate’. The first campaign relates to the Government’s 2019 He Puapua report. Kiwis were never told about it at the time and it was never campaigned on by Labour. It has recently been considered by Cabinet and is being…

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 12.2 percent in the June 2020 quarter, the largest quarterly fall recorded since the current series began in 1987, as the COVID-19 restrictions in place through the quarter impacted economic activity, Stats NZ said today. “The 12.2 percent fall in quarterly GDP is by far the largest on record in New Zealand,” national accounts senior manager…

The National Library of New Zealand is proceeding with removing about 600,000 books from its Overseas Published Collections. It is doing so in the misguided belief that these books are not important to New Zealanders and get little use. In fact, neither of these claims are true, as the library’s own statistics reveal. The Library claims that its consultation – which was mostly…

The Free Speech Coalition is preparing to launch an urgent judicial review of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s decision to deem non-daily newspapers and publications not an essential service for the purposes of the COVID-19 Level-4 nationwide shutdown. Free Speech Coalition spokesperson Jordan Williams said “No High Court is going to uphold a bureaucrat deciding what…

A lot has been made in recent times of investment in quality transport infrastructure, improved public transport and congestion reduction; all culminating in a decision between the Green Party and Labour Party arm of the Coalition Government for “rapid light rail” (modern trams) to run from the CBD to the Auckland Airport. As a member of the team at the Campaign for Better…

elocal sat down with Shane Jones at the recent New Zealand First Christmas function. Below are excerpts from that conversation. elocal: Shane going back to the last election Winston said that capitalism no longer works. What do you think he meant by that? SJ: I think that the engines of growth. I’m firmly of the view are well known. It’s just how you distribute a dividend of…

Massive change lies ahead for voters in the Hunua electorate. Boundary alterations ahead of the 2020 and 2023 general elections will see the electorate’s name changed to Port Waikato, and its area shifted south and transformed from urban to rural. Hunua MP Andrew Bayly’s seat will be severely impacted by the proposed changes – of all the electorates, his is probably the one…

“New Zealand requires a Ministry of Water.” So stated Ron Howard, a retired engineer who recently addressed the Veterans Division of the Pukekohe returned Services Association. Mr Howard provided a précis of his extensive research of the country’s water issues that have covered a 30 year span and, ironically, he has pre-empted the government, which had intended to bring out a…

Tena koutou ki a koutou a Ngapuhi E hari ana taku ngakau ki te mihi atu ki a koutou He iwi kotahi tatou No reira tena koutou. Can I begin my comments today by saying how much I appreciate your invitation? I have no doubt that some of you see me as a racist of the worst kind. It is a great tribute to you that you are nevertheless willing to have me here today, at this place of…