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	Outrage at welfare changes Muriel Newman 13 May 2012
Poverty advocates are crying foul over the fact that the government is even raising the idea of linking the immunisation of children to benefit receipt, even though it is an established practice that works well in many other countries. This is a discussion that is taking place in the wider context of the government’s initiative to better protect vulnerable children. Requiring beneficiaries to immunise their children – unless they are opposed for conscience reasons - is surely part of their obligation as parents. Those who fail to do so are putting their children at risk.... More >>>

	Paid Parental Leave - time to take a step back Lindsay Mitchell 11 March 2012
The NZ Herald recently ran a poll asking whether National was right to use its veto to override Labour MP Sue Moroney's private member's bill to extend Paid Parental Leave (PPL) from 14 weeks to 6 months. After 16,000 votes were submitted, sixty percent of respondents had answered yes... More >>>

Breaking News - live news feeds

Recent commentaries... View all reader comments>>>
	Hijacking our constitution Muriel Newman 6 May 2012 ACT is again in the political spotlight, but for all the wrong reasons. The controversy surrounding John Banks and his 2010 Auckland Mayoral campaign donations is not subsiding.... More >>>

	Treaty beliefs, in their own words Mike Butler 6 May 2012 One unchanging political reality is that review panels are set up to get the outcomes of the interested party. I suggest that the current constitutional advisory panel has been carefully set up with focussed terms of reference, and carefully vetted panel members, to achieve the Maori Party goal of ensuring... More >>>

	Tax freedom day Muriel Newman 29 April 2012 Saturday was Tax Freedom Day. As far as the central government tax burden is concerned, Saturday was the notional day of the year when the average New Zealander stopped working for the government.... More >>>

	Why taxes are so high – and set to rise a lot more Bryce Wilkinson 29 April 2012 During the last hundred years central government taxes per capita rose 20 times faster than consumer prices (from around $660 in 1910 to $13,198 in 2010 in year ended March 2011 dollars, as in the chart below)...More >>>

	A snapshot of New Zealand Muriel Newman 22 April 2012 The reality is that the world is a far better place today than it was 50 years ago or even a few years ago - and it will be better still in the years to come. The technological and internet innovations that we are currently experiencing are only the starting point of a revolution that is now underway and is... More >>>

	Foreign Policy in an Interdependent World: A NZ Perspective Mike Moore 21 April 2012 Small nations need rules-based systems more than great powers - the law is the great equaliser. We all know, to our great cost, the dangers posed by the soft option of isolationism... More >>>

	A New Carbon Tax Muriel Newman 15 April 2012 It has been estimated that the ETS has cost the average family of four around $750 a year since it was introduced in 2010. The government is now planning to double that cost to around $1,500 a year... More >>>

	The Great Government Green-wash Barry Brill 15 April 2012 Deception has always been at the heart of the Emissions Trading Scheme legislation. When it was enacted in great haste by a Labour Government in 2008, the public were told it was intended to stave off global warming. In fact, its purpose was to settle a major law suit brought against the Government by the forestry industry... More >>>

	Crafar Farm facts Muriel Newman 9 April 2012 A decision on the future ownership of the Crafar Farms, a large North Island farming operation that went into receivership in October 2009 owing $194 million, is imminent. Acting on behalf of the new owners... More >>>

	Fact or Counterfactional? Unpacking the Crafar Controversy. Bronwyn Howell 8 April 2012 ustice Miller’s setting aside of the Ministerial consent given under the Overseas Investment Act 2005 for the highly contentious sale of the Crafar farms to Chinese interests (Pengxin) in the High Court in Wellington on February 3 raises more questions than it answers... More >>>

	Time to look forward Muriel Newman 1 April 2012 There is a growing consensus amongst western leaders that policies and practices that divide citizens along ethnic and cultural lines are immensely damaging to societies and nations... More >>>

	The Biculturalism Myth David Round 1 April 2012 I have been thinking about ‘culture’, my friends, and am trying to get a handle on this most important matter. Culture is jolly important. We hear a lot about Maori culture, and hear all the time that we are a ‘bicultural nation’, although this.... More >>>

	Time to have your say on our voting system Muriel Newman 26 March 2012 The review of MMP is well underway with over 2,000 submissions already received, swamping the 200 to 800 received during previous reviews. While the deadline for written submissions is not until May 31, for... More >>>

	Review of MMP and why it sets a dangerous precedent Jordan Williams 25 March 2012 The decision by New Zealanders to keep MMP means that any changes that come as a result of the “review” of MMP will be those the politicians prefer to implement. This piece discusses the scope of the “review”... More >>>

	Last chance to defend coastal rights Muriel Newman 19 March 2012 A half page advertisement promoting our Citizens Initiated Referendum (CIR) to restore Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed will appear in community newspapers throughout the country this week... More >>>

	When will iwi and Finlayson start taking our beaches? Hugh Barr 18 March 2012 Rumours continue to circulate about sweet deals that Public Foreshore & Seabed Minister Christopher Finlayson is doing in secret with coastal iwi, especially in Northland on Ninety Mile Beach, one of our most iconic beaches. ..... More >>>

	Reforms focus on work Muriel Newman 12 March 2012 New Zealand has always had a strong welfare state tradition. In its original form, as introduced by Michael Joseph Savage in 1938, state welfare supplemented the community-based charitable efforts that... More >>>

	Welfare reforms are in the interest of children Lindsay Mitchell 11 March 2012 Welfare reforms the government will legislate for later this year have been typically denounced by opposition politicians and child advocates. Many have railed in particular against the idea that mothers with children as young as 1 year-old... More >>>

	Radical forces plan to replace our constitution Muriel Newman 5 March 2012 By agreeing to the Maori Party’s demand for a Constitutional Review, as part of their 2008 and 2011 Confidence and Supply Agreements, the National Party is advancing the agenda of radical forces... More >>>

	Marching though the institutions Elizabeth Rata 4 March 2012 he elite of neotribal capitalism have played a decisive and self-interested role in controlling shifts in the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi. In the identity politics of the 1970s ‘honouring the treaty’ initially referred to... More >>>

	The need for local government reform Muriel Newman 26 February 2012 There incidents are widespread problems with local government. At a time when central government is tightening its belt, striving to reduce debt and lower its costs, local government appears to be moving in... More >>>

	Let's take our councils back Owen McShane 26 February 2012 Many people around the country are unhappy with the performance of their Councils and demanding action of one kind or another. Perhaps surprisingly, the same key issues are being debated in places as diverse as the UK.... More >>>

	Time to have your say on welfare Muriel Newman 19 February 2012 In its Green Paper for Vulnerable Children, the government estimates that 15 percent of children under the age of 18 are particularly vulnerable. By that they mean that “without significant support and intervention... More >>>

	How welfare harms children Lindsay Mitchell 19 February 2012 Welfare does not equate to well-being. Poverty is not the over-arching problem it is painted as; open-ended benefits, as a misguided response to poverty are. More >>>

	Will the claims ever end? Muriel Newman 12 February 2012 Revelations that the Maori Council has lodged a new Waitangi Tribunal claim for the ownership of the country’s fresh water supplies has been greeted with widespread concern... More >>>

	The New Zealand Maori Council Water Rights Claim Stephen Franks 12 February 2012 The Waitangi Tribunal claims just announced by the New Zealand Maori Council are unapologetically an attempt at legal mugging. Though purportedly based on the deep wounds Maoridom will feel if SOE shares are sold before the ownership of water is settled... More >>>

	Grievance day Muriel Newman 6 February 2012 Waitangi Day has become national Maori Grievance Day. The Maori sovereignty flag, symbolising the desire of radical Maori to take over ownership and control of New Zealand, now flies from official buildings - with the blessing of the Prime Minister.... More >>>

	Treaty transparency: Settlements 1989-2012 Mike Butler 5 February 2012 A settlement of the Ninety Mile Beach tribe’s complaints plus Maori politicians posturing over proposed asset sales have awakened interest in the on-going saga of quasi legal claims by a handful of high profile individuals and compensation payments by the government... More >>>

	Does our food industry need new regulation? Muriel Newman 29 January 2012 The Department of Trade and Industry describes the food and beverage industry as the “lynchpin of New Zealand's prosperity”. Representing a half of all New Zealand's merchandise exports by value, the industry has... More >>>

	The Food bill Eric Crampton 29 January 2012 Nobody really seems to know just what will come of the proposed changes to New Zealand’s food safety regime. Minister for Food Safety Kate Wilkinson assures us that the regime simply modernizes New Zealand legislation and... More >>>

	The Government's Plan for NZ Muriel Newman 22 January 2012 The Speech from the Throne is delivered by the Queen’s representative, the Governor General, at the opening of a new Parliament. Traditionally, the speech sets out the reasons for summoning Parliament.... More >>>

	Eurozone - New Zealand Exposures Roger Bowden 22 January 2012 Economists often talk about shocks, and in the next breath about impulse response functions, which is basically how an initial shock follows through over time to the rest of the economy.... More >>>

	2012: Setting the scene Muriel Newman 15 January 2012 The 2012 year has had a turbulent start – from the increasingly chaotic state of the European economies, to the proliferation of geopolitical unrest, to the on-going aftershocks in Christchurch, to the unpredictable weather!... More >>>

	The Eurozone Meltdown and New Zealand Exposures Roger Bowden 15 January 2012 Economic life these days seems to shudder from one crisis to another. The US finally looks like clawing its way back from its own version of a financial nightmare, the subprime crisis... More >>>

	Xmas message Muriel Newman 18 December 2011 Some huge challenges lie ahead. In a country where all New Zealanders, irrespective of racial origin should have equal status and equal rights, the Maori Party - once more a partner in government... More >>>

	National ready to govern again Muriel Newman 11 December 2011 This is the final NZCPR Weekly column dealing with the 2011 General Election. We hope you have found value in our coverage. Before the election we wanted to inform you of the policy prescriptions being promoted by... More >>>

	The no-vote protest vote Mike Butler 11 December 2011 Why did the losers lose in last week’s general election? Labour leader-in-departure Phil Goff says it was not their time, and Shane Jones wants to know why three out of every four voters thought Team Goff was unfit to govern. Nearly 300,000 voters deserted Labour between 2005 and 2011 voting with their feet.... More >>>

	Eurogeddon and austerity Muriel Newman 4 December 2011 While the coalition negotiations between National, ACT, United and the Maori Party continue on in their indeterminable way, the sovereign debt crisis in Europe deepens. Amid fears of loan defaults by Italy and Greece,... More >>>

	Three more years Karl du Fresne 4 December 2011 Let’s get the congratulations out of the way first. National’s election triumph was as emphatic as they get, at least under MMP. Admittedly, it’s rare for a government to be tossed out of office after only one term: it last happened in 1975...,More >>>

	Election 2011 – the final countdown Muriel Newman 27 November 2011 Last month, with the Rugby World Cup in full swing, the country was painted black in support of the All Blacks. Now, the country is painted blue in support of a National-led government. Almost half of the population... More >>>

	Election 2011 - the winners and the losers Frank Newman 27 November 2011 The votes are in. The winners are grinners, and the losers are out or about to be ousted. While politicians spin the results, the numbers tell the story. So who won? Who lost? And why? More >>>

	Election 2011 – tapes, vandalism, separatism, and the voting referendum Muriel Newman 20 November 2011 John Key was right to take a principled stand to prevent the release of an illegal tape recording of a private conversation between himself and John Banks. If he hadn’t, the whole boundary between what is private and what is public would... More >>>

	Maori politics - rights without responsibility Mike Butler 20 November 2011 Which New Zealand political party poses the greatest threat to harmonious race relations? The parties that assert one law for all, or those demanding entrenched Maori seats, automatic enrolment of Maori on the Maori electoral roll, have Maori language compulsorily available in schools... More >>>

	Election 2011 - storm clouds gather on horizon Muriel Newman 14 November 2011 As the Head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde was warning about the bleak global economic outlook last week, New Zealand politicians were digging deeper into taxpayer pockets and promising to... More >>>

	The 1% balance and Belshazzar’s Feast Roger Bowden 13 November 2011 They straggled past down Cuba Street, an odd collection of gaunt activists, earnest ladies and scruffy alternative lifestylers, waving handwritten signs ‘WE ARE THE OTHER 99%’, and handing out cyclostyled bits of paper on the scourges.. More >>>

	Election 2011 - “it’s the economy, stupid” Muriel Newman 7 November 2011 As predicted, the biggest issue of the 2011 Election campaign is the economy. And the major question on people’s minds is which party is better placed to run the economy and protect us from... More >>>

	National's welfare reforms - lots of smoke but not much fire Lindsay Mitchell 6 November 2011 Listening to the response to National's welfare policy on talkback radio you would think National had proposed really radical reforms in the run up to next month's election... More >>>

	Election 2011 - round one Muriel Newman 31 October 2011 The campaign for New Zealand’s 2011 General Election on 26 November has started. The jostling and jockeying, shaking hands and kissing babies, meetings and protests, promises and bickering, the battle of ideas for... More >>>

	Now is the hour for our leadership to arise Owen Glenn 30 October 2011 Leaders grow things; they also make positive possibilities happen. So where are our ones when we need them most? We had leaders once. Maybe we still do but they’re conspicuous by their vocal absence... More >>>

	Fresh thinking Muriel Newman 24 October 2011 With the Rugby World Cup now almost behind us – and a HUGE congratulations to the All Blacks for their win and to all of those who made the tournament so successful – the country’s focus will soon turn to politics. With the 2011 general election just four weeks away... More >>>

	Gas against wind Matt Ridley 23 October 2011 Which would you rather have in the view from your house? A thing about the size of a domestic garage, or eight towers twice the height of Nelson’s column with blades noisily thrumming the air. The energy they can produce over ten years is similar: eight wind turbines of 2.5-megawatts... More >>>

	Time to hold politicians to account Muriel Newman 17 October 2011 In 2006, property investor Terrence Stirling applied to the Christchurch City Council for a resource consent for a bulk retail centre on a two-hectare site some 50 metres from the central business district... More >>>

	Let's "Dis" the DURT Owen McShane 16 October 2011 The publication of the Auckland Plan has stimulated some vigorous and timely debate about the impact of excessive restraints of supply on the price of land in our urban areas. Make no mistake, regulations, that constrain the land supply are a key ingredient in the DURT that seizes up the wheels... More >>>

	Crime - it’s about demography not race Muriel Newman 9 October 2011 The Maori Party is claiming that New Zealand’s justice, police, courts and corrections processes systematically discriminate against Maori. Co-leader Pita Sharples says that he has based his stance on a series of top-level...More >>>

	Tough policies reduce crime Garth McVicar 9 October 2011 Following the Maori Parties [via Pita Sharples] allegations of Police bias towards Maori Sensible Sentencing Trust Spokesman Garth McVicar is asking if the Maori Party is really a covert organisation in disguise.“... More >>>

	Winning an election is not enough Muriel Newman 2 October 2011 The Rugby World Cup is showing New Zealanders what is possible when we all unite behind a common purpose. Imagine how far we could go as a country if we all got behind a goal like lifting our living standards! More >>>

	Beware the dark greens Owen McShane 2 October 2011 We may all be environmentalists now. However, just as, over the last several decades, most of us have learned to be feminists, most of us have also learned to reject the dark side of the feminist movement that remains deeply Marxist in its roots and intentions. More >>>

	Spotlight on politicians over debt crisis Muriel Newman 25 September 2011 The grim outlook for the world economy is putting huge pressure on political leaders to come up with lasting solutions to their country’s financial woes. The way in which they choose to respond could have a major long term global impact. .... More >>>

	How Is Warren Buffett Like the Pope? Richard Epstein 25 September 2011 They are both dead wrong on economic policy. The terrible economic news from both Europe and the United States has led to much soul-searching on both sides of the Atlantic. How did we get here, and how can we get out of this jam? Both economies will be able to extricate themselves from their deep slumps only by promptly reversing those policies that have brought them to the brink. ... More >>>

	Leave our constitution alone Muriel Newman 18 September 2011 A Maori academic who says that immigration by whites should be restricted because they pose a threat to race relations due to their "white supremacist" attitudes, is leading an Independent Maori Working Group on constitutional reform... More >>>

	A Slippery Slope to Ruin David Round 18 September 2011 For some years I taught constitutional law at the University of Canterbury. I was also a debater, in those days when debating was a more popular activity than it is now ~ and it would happen, from time to time, when I appeared to speak in a debate, that the chairman, in introducing me, would tell the audience that I was... More >>>

	Strategy for Power Price Increases Muriel Newman 12 September 2011 For those New Zealanders concerned about the relentless rise in the price of power, the New Zealand Energy Strategy, released last month by the National-led government, offers little hope of relief... More >>>

	New Zealand’s Energy Strategy – the good, the bad, and the ugly Bryan Leyland 9 September 2011 The latest New Zealand Energy Strategy is a strange mixture of pragmatism, ignorance, unachievable aspirations and disregards our biggest energy resource. The policy on oil and gas is sensible and admirable... More >>>

	A matter of trust Muriel Newman 4 September 2011 As I write this newsletter, like you, my sympathies go out to the people of Christchurch... We can only wish them well as they struggle to rebuild their lives. But as we watch the replays of the earthquakes, we are again reminded of the power of nature and mankind’s insignificance by comparison. ... More >>>

	Confidence in climate scientists plummets Barry Brill 4 September 2011 In a Rasmussen national telephone survey of American adults conducted last month, 69% say it’s likely that some scientists have falsified research data in order to support their own theories and beliefs. Only 6% say it is not at all likely. More >>>

	An avoidable tragedy Muriel Newman 31 August 2011 The death of Nia Glassie was sickening. It exposed the darkest side of human behaviour – the killing of a defenceless child. If it was a one-off event, it would be bad enough, but the fact that it occurs over and over again is a cause of deep concern to every New Zealander... More >>>

	Brits recoil from teaching respect for authority at home or school Peter Saunders 29 August 2011 When I was a student, I took a course in the sociology of deviance. After weeks reviewing theories about the causes of law-breaking, the lecturer announced that we were asking the wrong question. "The real question," he said, "is not why some break the law. It is why we don't all break the law.".. More >>>

	A gravy train of "full & final" settlements Muriel Newman 24 August 2011 A few weeks ago the Minister for Treaty Settlements indicated that he might try to rush more than 20 settlement bills through Parliament as an omnibus bill before the House rises... More >>>

	Treaty payouts near $2.5b and continue to grow Mike Butler 21 August 2011 The total redress paid under Treaty of Waitangi settlements is approaching $2.5-billion and will continue to increase, according to information from the Office of Treaty Settlements. Eleven settlements with a total financial redress amount of $216.64-million are awaiting legislation and... More >>>

	Mending a broken society There are no excuses for the rioting and hooliganism that took place in Britain in recent weeks. It was criminal and cowardly behaviour – the worst form of opportunism by (mostly) young delinquents... More >>>

	Renewing Compassion Rt Hon Iain Duncan-Smith 14 August 2011 Back in the 1970s businesses avoided the UK because of its high taxes, high strike rates and low productivity. We were losing more than 20 million working days a year to labour disputes, and had a lower rate of productivity growth... More >>>

	Time to scrap the ETS Muriel Newman 9 August 2011 Lord Christopher Monckton, a former policy adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and one of the world’s leading climate change realists, has been visiting New Zealand reminding audiences that the world’s climate is not in the grip of catastrophic man-made global warming... More >>>

	ETS - Hot air and cold cash Robin Grieve 7 August 2011 The fact that Phil Goff intends funding Labour’s $800 million policy of paying R & D tax credits by bringing agriculture’s biological emissions into the ETS two year early in 2013 raises some very interesting questions about the mechanisms of the ETS and its purpose. Goff stated that delaying the entry of... More >>>

	Maori Seat Increase Undermines MMP Referendum Muriel Newman 1 August 2011 As a representative democracy New Zealand’s system of government is supposed to be ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’. So why do our ruling parties go to such great lengths to prevent ... More >>>

	Strengthening Democracy – giving voters more power Steve Baron 31 July 2011 I have been campaigning for more direct democracy in our political system since 2003, but just recently I looked at some old newspaper clippings from 1985 and realised I was even talking about referendums way back then. Having an interest or passion for politics is rather peculiar in this day and age. .. More >>>

	Capital Gains Tax – Labour’s great leap backwards Muriel Newman 26 July 2011 Since the 2008 election, the Labour Party has been desperately searching for a new identity and relevance. As the main opposition party they have failed to... More >>>

	Capital Gains Tax pitfalls and false prophets Frank Newman 24 July 2011 Over the last few weeks various economists and tax experts have been trying to predict the economic effects of Labour’s capital gains tax (CGT) proposal. What the experts do agree on is the best tax is one that is simple, has a... More >>>

	Coastal Coalition’s CIR Gets the Green Light Muriel Newman 18 July 2011 Since 1996 our MMP voting system has given New Zealand a series of coalition governments, consisting of a mainstream party – Labour or National – and minor parties. Some minor parties have radical agendas... More >>>

	Why we are running a Citizens Initiated Referendum against National’s Marine & Coastal Area Act Dr Hugh Barr 17 July 2011 Dr Muriel Newman and I, the co-founders of the Coastal Coalition, are leading a Citizens Initiated Referendum on the question “*Should the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011be replaced by legislation that restores Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed?*” ... More >>>

	Radical forces shape our future Muriel Newman 12 July 2011 There is no doubt that New Zealand is being subjected, more than ever before, to radical forces from within. Previously we - the silent majority - quite rightly relied upon our elected politicians to do the talking and keep the radicals at bay, so that the wishes of the majority of citizens were respected.... More >>>

	The Jeweled Gecko Gerry Eckhoff 10 July 2011 There is an old adage that observes that if you want the same result, just keep on doing the same things. The loss of the famed Jeweled Gecko to wild life smugglers continues unabated from the Otago Peninsula and no doubt - else where... More >>>

	Wai 262 empowers Maori elite Muriel Newman 3 July 2011 Saturday’s release of the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-awaited report on the Wai 262 indigenous flora and fauna claim is packed full of recommendations designed to empower the Maori elite.While the Tribunal is careful to... More >>>

	Horotiu the taniwha stirs David Round3 July 2011 The Auckland City Council’s plans for a $2.6 billion rail loop to assist in easing the city’s transport woes have encountered, as all Aucklanders will be aware, a perhaps unexpected obstacle. One Glenn Wilcox ... More >>>

	Decision Time for CIR Muriel Newman 25 June 2011 It is decision time for the proposed Citizens Initiated Referendum (CIR) to restore Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed. If you are concerned about this issue I would ask you to forward this newsletter on to as many interested people as you can... More >>>

	The Challenge of Citizens Initiated Referenda Larry Baldock 25 June 2011 How hard can it be to collect enough signatures for a referendum? Well first let’s look at the history of Citizens Initiated Referenda (CIR) since Parliament passed the legislation to allow for such a democratic process in 1993. After the Muldoon years and the turmoil of the 4th Labour Government, the National party sensed growing public dissatisfaction with politicians ignoring the people. ... More >>>

	Does marriage matter? Muriel Newman 20 June 2011 The rate of marriage in New Zealand is continuing to decline. According to Statistics New Zealand the rate of marriage has plummeted over the last 40 years by 72 percent from 45.5 per 1,000 people aged 16 years and over in 1971, to 12.45 last year... More >>>

	Family Court review a good start – but real vision is needed Bruce Tichbon 19 June 2011 In ancient Greek mythology, the Hydra was a venomous serpent-like creature with many heads. Each time a head was cut off, two grew in its place. The Hydra was defeated by the hero Hercules.... More >>>

	A scandal of wasted opportunity Muriel Newman 13 June 2011 The 70 job losses announced last week by KiwiRail in Dunedin and Wellington, and the 41 from Yarrows bakery in South Taranaki are reminders of how difficult business conditions are in New Zealand at the present time... More >>>

	Young people need youth rates of pay Alasdair Thompson 12 June 2011 Six years ago when the Labour government was planning to abolish minimum pay rates for youth, our organization, the Employers and Manufacturers Association, said the move was certain to hurt the very people it was intended to help... More >>>

	Time for a national economic strategy Muriel Newman 6 June 2011 Last month the Minister of Finance asked for ideas to kick start the economy. It was a surprising request from someone who had just delivered the Budget - an economic blueprint for the years ahead... More >>>

	A week is a long time in politics Phil O'Reily 5 June 2011 The recent Budget raised the question: What should we be doing to grow the economy? The initial response by many commentators was that the 2011 Budget was safe and headed in the right direction... More >>>

	Popular beaches targeted for claims Muriel Newman 31 May 2011 It has started – Maori tribal corporations are lining up to claim customary title of our coastline. Thanks to National’s Marine and Coastal Area Act... the birthright and common heritage of all New Zealanders...has now been put up for grabs by iwi. Reports are now emerging that claims for prime areas... More >>>

	Making referendum count Colin Craig 29 May 2011 I wonder how you voted in the last binding referendum. I refer of course to the 2008 election in which we the people decided the mix of representatives for the next 3 years. Of course there is another binding referendum (election) later this year but is one every 3 years enough? I think not... More >>>

	Budget 2011: A wasted opportunity Muriel Newman 24 May 2011 In terms of theatre, last Thursday’s election year budget was a polished performance - a nice public relations exercise aimed at pacifying the concerns of voters, while giving little to opposition parties to really get their teeth into... More >>>

	Budget 2011 doesn't solve serious problems Roger Kerr 22 May 2011 Some have described the 2011 budget as cautious and safe. Cautious, yes. Safe – maybe politically, but not in terms of removing economic risks. And no one to my knowledge described it as strategic – constituting a coherent, medium-term plan for restoring balanced growth... More >>>

	Tackling Welfare Muriel Newman 17 May 2011 With the financial crisis forcing governments around the world to tighten their belts the call for welfare reform is growing stronger. In Australia, teenage parents could lose welfare payments as soon as six months after... More >>>

	Child Disability Allowance: Fraud and incompetence? Dr Tim Rooke 15 May 2011 One of the problems of being a doctor in New Zealand is being asked to sign documents that are untrue for the benefit of patients or patient’s parents. I wrote to the Minister of Social Development twice after I had a confrontation with a patient’s parent. More >>>

	It's time to say "no more" Muriel Newman 9 May 2011 Last Thursday, TVNZ’s current affairs programme Close Up, asked viewers “Do Maori have a special place in this country?” The result was overwhelming - 81 percent of the 40,000 respondents said “No”, Maori do not have a special place. More >>>

	Time to Say "no" to Treaty Claims David Round 8 May 2011 There is an old joke, which I am afraid I have used more than once on occasions where speeches may be required to run along very familiar lines, in which one remarks that ones job as a speaker is a little like the challenge which faced Elizabeth Taylor’s eighth husband on their wedding night... More >>>

	The new political landscape Muriel Newman 2 May 2011 Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once quipped, “A week is a long time in politics”. Last week was a long time in politics! Within one week new forces have emerged at both ends of NZ’s political spectrum.... More >>>

	The economic consequences of Mr Key Prof. Roger Bowden 2 May 2011 It’s been an odd sort of government, these last three years. The one thing they’ve done really well, namely the slick PR job on Mr Key.... should be enough to get the National Party back on the treasury benches. More >>>

	Maori Demand $600m for Te Reo Muriel Newman 24 April 2011 The demands by the Maori elite are as relentless as a rising tide. Not content with securing the future ownership of the public’s foreshore and seabed... Maori leaders are now coming back for more...More >>>

	The Great Maori Language Rort Michael Coote 25 April 2011 The great Maori language rort is one of a series of frauds being perpetrated on New Zealanders by part-Maori looters of taxpayer funds and Crown assets (or in the case of the foreshore and seabed, ex-Crown assets). More >>>

	Tinkering with welfare Muriel Newman 19 April 2011 It is disappointing that two government initiatives announced over the last week aimed at reducing New Zealand’s appalling rate of child abuse, appear more focussed on criminalising law-abiding citizens than changing those government policies that are at the heart of the child abuse crisis... More >>>

	Herbert Spencer’s influence on Sir Frederic Truby King Nigel Costley 19 April 2011 Highly sexist, intellectually eclectic, and champion of numerous public health campaigns, the founder of Plunket, Sir Frederic Truby King (1858 – 1938) is a difficult customer for the modern mind to understand... More >>>

	An odious omnibus Muriel Newman 12 April 2011 In the same week that the Coastal Coalition took a step towards forcing greater accountability on Parliament,... National was trying to change Parliament’s rules to reduce accountability!... More >>>

	Repealing the Marine & Coastal Area Act 2011 Dr Hugh Barr 10 April 2011 There are so many untruths and uncertainties about National's highly controversial Marine and Coastal Area Act that the public has been vindicated for massively opposing it. The Act claims to address the uncertain issue of Maori customary rights in 1840, something that nobody alive today has any direct knowledge of. More >>>

	An exercise in futility 5 April 2011 It was the British philosopher and MP Edmund Burke who first described the media as the “fourth estate”. During a parliamentary debate in 1787 to usher in press reporting of the House of Commons, he said... More >>>

	The folly of the ETS Robin Grieve 4 April 2011 The Emission Trading Scheme was put in place to help New Zealand meet its obligations to the Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate purpose of that Protocol and the ETS is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that some say may be causing global warming. While I find it extraordinary that... More >>>

	Too little, too late Muriel Newman, 28 March 2011 With the budget fast approaching, National is finally being forced to do something about a government sector that has grown far too big. According to Treasury, since 2005 “government spending has ballooned by about... More >>>

	Evaluating performance in our universities Dr Ron Smith 27 March 2011 As 2011 begins, academic staff at New Zealand Universities will emerge from all the ‘formative exercises’, ‘mentoring’ and ‘coaching’ sessions of recent years, to get straight into the real thing: Performance Based Research Funding... More >>>


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