Articles in ‘Opinion’

Centrist Publishing arranged for television advertising for the book Jacinda: The Untold Stories; an unauthorised biography by David Cohen which was screened during the Graham Norton show on TVNZ 2, Friday 12th December. The advertising has galvanised Jacinda’s supporters and got them outraged and calling for complaints to be made to the Broadcasting Standards board such as the example that follows: “for airing a book known for spreading…

The local government election donation returns are in, and they tell a familiar story. Money talks in local government, and it speaks loudest on behalf of those with the most to gain from council decisions. The 2025 campaigns in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin were awash with cash from property developers, corporate magnates and other vested interests. Big money in the big city · Nowhere was the money gap starker than in…

Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has insisted her electorate overspend was authorised, saying her office had an agreement to provide support to Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp (who passed away in June) while Kemp was unwell. · Party president John Tamihere flatly rejects that such an agreement ever existed. · In High Court filings, the party states there was no approval from Kemp for Kapa-Kingi to draw on Tāmaki Makaurau resources,…

In my honest opinion New Zealand is gradually becoming a more racist country as time goes by, with the modern day so-called “Maori Elite” as the main proponents, ably assisted by the mainstream media. You may well ask why I hold that opinion and what is my reason for saying this. · The answer to that question would have to be that the main reason for this opinion is due to the Treaty of Waitangi. · Before you start to send out search and…

Andrew Coster’s interview on Q+A has blown the police integrity scandal wide open again. It’s now obvious the public has been left with a mess of clashing accounts, shifting explanations, and gaps that the existing investigation was never designed to resolve. If the Government wants any hope of restoring confidence in the Police, it needs to authorise an independent inquiry with proper powers. Coster went on television insisting he’d “acted…

With the release of its new National Security Strategy (NSS), the United States — the world’s most powerful nation — has officially abandoned the global-hegemony doctrine that defined the post-Cold War order. · For the first time since 1945, Washington is no longer claiming the mantle of global policeman, architect of the “rules-based international order,” or moral crusader for universal liberal democracy. Instead, the U.S. has accepted —…

The RMA is important. It is New Zealand's biggest regulatory tax and the most significant handbrake on our country's economic prosperity and living standards. · Yesterday 100 journalists and analysts worked through the Government’s just-released replacement to the RMA. · Planning law is inherently difficult, detailed, and technical. Having only had the material for a few hours, we don’t pretend to have our head around all the detail – but I…

In December 2020, the then Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern called climate change ‘one of the greatest challenges of our time’, declared a “Climate Emergency” and pledged a carbon-neutral government by 2025 The declaration of a climate emergency was supported by the Green Party and Maori Party and opposed by the National and Act parties. · Speaking in parliament after its introduction, Ardern said the country must “act with urgency”. ·  “This…

For years, governments insisted they were “following the science.” But science does not stand still, and it certainly does not bow to political pressure. Now, as new studies challenge the assumptions that drove the global COVID-19 response, the world is being forced to confront an uncomfortable truth: many of the policies that reshaped economies, societies, and democracies were based on data that is no longer standing up to scrutiny. What was…

The Labour Party faithful gathered in Auckland this past weekend for their annual conference, and for any progressives watching from outside the hall, there were two possible reactions. If you’re excited by the prospect of a change of government next year, then you’ll be buoyed by what you saw. If you’re excited by the prospect of progressive change actually occurring under that new government, you might well have your head in your hands. Becaus…