Articles in ‘Opinion’

The Free Speech Union is calling on Parliament to narrow the Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill, warning it hands police open-ended discretion to move people on, and prosecute them, for peaceful conduct in a public place. The Bill lets an officer order anyone aged 14 or over to leave a public place for 24 hours on grounds as vague as “disorderly” or “disruptive” behaviour, or for begging. Whatever you think about begging, the Free…

New Zealand has always had a pest problem. Possums, rats, stoats and other introduced species damage native ecosystems, threaten bird life and create major management costs. Nobody seriously disputes that action is needed. The real question is not whether pests should be controlled. The real question is whether New Zealand has become trapped in an expensive cycle of poisoning when it should be building industries instead. · Imagine taking…

The latest shipping movements suggest the overall picture remains reasonably stable across the country, although we're beginning to see signs of a quieter period emerging in parts of the network. There is still fuel moving through the system and the larger hubs continue doing most of the heavy lifting, but a few smaller ports are starting to show lighter schedules. It doesn't automatically mean concern, but it does give us a few areas worth…

By Guy Hatchard · A bill containing amendments to the HSNO (Hazardous Substances and New Organisms) Act passed its first reading in Parliament on May 14 with the support of Labour and the Coalition. It is hard to escape the notion that this bill is simply the Gene Technology Bill Mark 2. There are provisions in the amendments which allow for fast tracking of genetically modified organisms if they are approved overseas. It seems the government…

New Zealanders have increasingly been asking questions this month as NZ Fuel Watch reports continue to show an unusual pattern emerging in tanker movements and fuel origins. Normally, the flow of refined fuel into New Zealand follows fairly predictable pathways. South Korea, Singapore and occasionally Japan have historically provided the backbone of refined product shipments entering the country. · But recent observations suggest something…

The interesting thing this week is that after what felt like a very slow start to May, we're now starting to see the shipping picture fill out quite a bit. Earlier in the month there were days where you could look across the schedules and there was practically nothing new to report. That naturally raises eyebrows because people start asking whether supply issues are developing behind the scenes. But looking at where we sit now, the overall…

The Free Speech Union is calling on the Queenstown Lakes District Council to reverse its decision to blacklist Crux Media editor Peter Newport from council media access, warning that the move sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom in New Zealand. Mr Newport has spent a year investigating the sewage discharged from Queenstown's wastewater plant into the Shotover River. Three days before RNZ confirmed E. coli levels almost four times the…

You may have seen the Herald piece this week reporting that the Legal Complaints Review Officer has quashed the disciplinary finding against me and my firm. · !Herald headline · Source: Free Speech Union · I'm not writing to celebrate. · I'm writing because what happened to me is what is now happening, regularly and quietly, to people across New Zealand who don't have the resources to fight back. · A lawyer's letter, fifty years of practice,…

On Sunday's Q+A, Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed what the Free Speech Union has been warning about for months: universal age verification is coming to New Zealand. That is the only detail the public has been given The Department of Internal Affairs is already recruiting a Programme Implementation Director. Procurement is underway. A July 2027 implementation date has been pencilled in. None of this has been before Parliament. None of…

The interesting thing this week is that despite all the noise globally around the Strait of Hormuz situation, tanker schedules into New Zealand are still holding up fairly well. Looking through the current shipping picture, there is nothing immediately standing out that suggests supply stress is building. The ships are still arriving, distribution is still moving, and for now at least, the system appears to be functioning normally. · Marsden…