Category: Economic Issues
The use of alarmism to justify the introduction of damaging new laws and regulations is a political strategy that sadly, is much more commonly used in New Zealand today than most people realise. The methamphetamine decontamination scandal is a classic case, where over-the-top scare tactics have been used to justify heavy-handed and overly restrictive regulation.
The big methamphetamine clean-up scam that was spectacularly busted last week is a story of a government’s failure to use evidence to create policy. It is also a story of politics. The bust came from the PM's chief science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman, who reported that there's never been a documented case of someone getting sick from third-hand exposure to meth.
In the lead up to the last election, Labour’s policy manifesto signalled a dramatic change in direction for the country if they became the Government. The broad signs are already there that the new coalition’s unusual cocktail of radicalism and popularism is the greatest risk that this country has faced in years.
On October 23rd last year New Zealand First leader Winston Peters announced that he’d chosen the most radical left wing coalition in this country’s history to become our new Government.
With the Government’s climate change policy agenda set to impose huge financial costs on households over time, it is little wonder that global warming scaremongering is now being ratcheted up.
In economic terms, New Zealand’s isolation has long been seen as a major handicap. But in terms of ‘climate change’ alarm, isolation is proving to be its greatest asset.
Last week submissions opened on the Government’s tax review. In reality, it's a twelve month long $4 million political charade designed to deliver the capital gains tax policy that Labour botched during the election campaign.
Those who expect the Working Group to produce a comprehensive and impartial review of our tax system will be disappointed. It's not that kind of project. The Group's role is to provide options within the government’s agenda.
Will the President of the United States be responsible for lowering power prices in New Zealand? That question has been raised because this could be one of the unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s latest move “to make America great again”.
The New Zealand electricity market has given us ever increasing prices and there is an increasing risk that a dry hydro year could lead to extremely high prices and blackouts. Major changes to the industry are needed – and quickly.
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