“Marxists get up early in the morning to further their cause. We must get up even earlier to defend our freedom.”
– British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, 1978
New Zealand is at a crossroads. This is the moment that will define the next generation. Will our future embrace freedom and liberty, or are we staring down the barrel of increasing Sate control.
Some say we are already on a totalitarian path – our personal freedoms taken away by ever more powerful politicians and organs of the State.
Defined by the Oxford Dictionary as a system of government that is centralised, dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the State, ‘totalitarianism’ certainly describes the actions of Jacinda Ardern’s Government since mid-March.
At that time, the Prime Minister used the extraordinary powers reserved for use when the nation is under threat, to lock down the economy and confine people to their homes. The decision to abandon the protocols of the Pandemic Management Plan – last used by John Key to guide the country through the Swine Flu pandemic – appears to have been taken capriciously on the basis of grossly exaggerated modelling.
In his article What Price Liberty and the Virus, the former Judge and Law Lecturer Anthony Willy, explains that ‘For the first time in our history inalienable liberties and freedoms set out by the New Zealand Bill of Rights – freedom of association, freedom of movement, the liberty of the person, and the right to live in a Parliamentary democracy – have been suspended.’
“In a sinister twist, loss of these rights is backed by an apparently highly popular government encouraged scheme of dobbing in one’s neighbour for possible infractions. At the time of the fall of the Berlin wall it was estimated that the membership of the Stasi was about 80,000 but that many times this number were unpaid informants assisting the Stasi to protect the state from infection with the very ideas and principles the government has suspended.”
The PM’s ‘dob in your neighbour’ campaign is particularly galling in the context of her “be nice to each other” mantra, but when combined with high profile pro-active policing, it ensured widespread subservience.
In fact, the only groups to openly flout the lockdown rules and seek on-going publicity for their law breaking, were tribal activists running illegal blockades to promote their separatist agenda. Instead of enforcing the law, the Government turned a blind eye, empowering others claiming race-based mandates to follow suit.
In his article Maori monarch declares waterways off-limits, journalist Bob Edlin explains how the Maori King used COVID-19 to justify placing a rahui on the Waikato River: “we think the river needs time to rejuvenate and regenerate its spiritual self as well.”
It’s appalling that such naked attempts to exert tribal supremacy are taken seriously by anyone at all, and its politically corrupt for such actions to be endorsed by the Prime Minister and the Police Commissioner.
Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking is scathing: “So the fundamental dishonesty continues… you can set up a roadblock, pretend to call it a checkpoint, and get approval from the Prime Minister and the Police Commissioner. And worst of all it’s political. The Labour Party are beholden to Maori for the Maori seats. They would sell every non-Maori out to offer a level of tacit support for illegal activity the rest of us wouldn’t stand a hope in hell of getting away with. Why are we putting up with this?”
Another hallmark of totalitarianism is the State’s response to those who challenge the leadership. While some regimes forcibly silence their critics, in New Zealand they are discredited.
Attempts have been made to discredit a group of New Zealand academics and public health experts who openly opposed the lockdown. They argued “the government’s strategy was over-the-top and likely to cause greater harm than the virus to the nation’s long-term health and well-being, social fabric, economy, and education.”
To their credit they have carried on claiming the Government’s restrictions were a mistake. They believe that most working people and children are at such a low risk of harm from the virus, they should have been at work and school, with only the high risk groups, namely the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, in isolation.
Also attacked was the former Reserve Bank economist Ian Harrison of Tailrisk Economics, who exposed the gross inaccuracies of the models that spooked the Prime Minister into her Captain’s Call to lock down the country. In a new paper he outlines why his analysis is correct and his critics are wrong.
A crucial point he makes is that the new daily COVID-19 case numbers peaked towards the end of March, which was too early to have been impacted by the lockdown. This means that the Ministry of Health’s Pandemic Management Plan, which we had been following before the PM closed down the country, was working.
Dr Steve Elers, a senior lecturer in journalism at Massey University, who used his weekly Stuff opinion piece to criticise the Prime Minister for her misleading claims, was also targeted. He revealed that after his article was published, the Prime Minister’s office emailed the newspaper asking them to make a ‘correction’: “I’m concerned this is undue influence from the Prime Minister’s office on editorial content… because it didn’t suit the Prime Minister’s agenda.” With media companies currently seeking bailouts from the Government, he believes there’s a serious imbalance of power.
After National’s leader condemned the extension of the level 4 lockdown, an orchestrated Facebook attack by Labour activists successfully changed the narrative from a criticism of the PM’s decision, to questioning Simon Bridges’ leadership. It can be no coincidence that Labour’s internal polling showing poor public support for Simon Bridges as a future Prime Minister was “leaked” shortly afterwards.
Creating a climate of fear to suppress criticism and control the narrative is a tactic commonly used by totalitarian governments.
With an election only four months away, the big question now, is to what extent will the Government try to control our future. Given the unprecedented destruction of the business sector caused by Jacinda Ardern’s lockdown, will New Zealand once again become a free market economy, or will we lurch down a socialist path to ever more state domination?
Robert Muldoon, of course, ruled New Zealand in a dictatorial fashion after the oil shocks of the 1970s. His ‘Think Big’ era of central planning brought the country to its knees.
After winning the 1984 election in a landslide, the new Labour Government – under the guidance of Finance Minister Roger Douglas – moved New Zealand from a highly regulated society, to an open and competitive, free-market economy.
Sir Roger Douglas is this week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator. He believes the situation New Zealand is facing today is dire:
“The Covid-19 outbreak has not only precipitated a health emergency, but also an economic crisis, unparalleled in modern history. For New Zealand to emerge from that crisis in a relatively healthy state, the Labour government will need to provide a clear framework for recovery, implementing policies which clearly prioritise those most affected.”
Sir Roger believes “a clear understanding of the kind of New Zealand we all want in the future” must underpin an economic blueprint, and he sets out some ideas: “Ultimately, we have a choice. We can either muddle through as we are – relying on policies that haven’t worked since the 1950s and which are ill-suited to our quickly changing world – or we can opt for a reset, introducing social and economic policies that will make New Zealand not only a richer but more equitable place to live; a country where every New Zealander has the chance to take control of their lives and secure a better future for themselves and their families.” Sir Roger’s paper can be viewed HERE.
Already there are disturbing signs that rather than fast-tracking reforms that will reduce bureaucracy and red tape to speed up the recovery, the Government is preparing to micro-managing the economy and pick winners – those industries which will be doomed and those which will thrive.
Indeed, if central planning is a sign of what’s to come, then Labour may try to use this virus crisis to embed their socialist world-view deep into the heart of our democracy. They don’t seem to realise that collectivism does not lead to economic success. No-one can imagine what ideas Kiwi go-getters will pursue on the road to recovery, but we can be sure they will be more imaginative, more practical, and more successful than the ideas coming from out-of-touch bureaucrats and career politicians in Wellington.
This is not the first time in modern history that a nation has had to decide whether to go down the path towards socialism or free enterprise.
In 1948, after three years of economic crisis following the Second World War, West Germany’s Economics Minister Ludwig Erhardt introduced sweeping reforms. Virtually overnight, the bureaucracy was curtailed, taxes were flattened, and the country was transformed into a free market economy.
To encourage hard work, tax on earnings from hours worked over 40 hours a week was abolished. And to incentivise exports, taxes on all profits earned through exports, were eliminated.
Released from the shackles of an overbearing bureaucracy and excessive taxation, innovation flourished, productivity soared, and exports skyrocketed. The country prospered. It was not long before Germany, the vanquished, overtook the victorious UK to become one of the world’s strongest economies.
In the years after the War, Britain, meanwhile, took the other path. Comforted by victory, the state assumed more power, virtually ruining the economy until it was rescued by the daughter of a green grocer.
When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, the country was run-down and racked by stagflation and labour strife. To reinvigorate the economy, she planned to roll back ‘the frontiers of the state’, restoring a culture of entrepreneurship and respect for private property: “I came to office with one deliberate intent: to change Britain from a dependent to a self-reliant society – from a give-it-to-me, to a do-it-yourself nation. A get-up-and-go, instead of a sit-back-and-wait-for-it Britain.”
Her reforms, which embraced the virtues of freedom, lower taxes, and less regulation, transformed the economy.
For New Zealand, determining the path forward is a crucial decision – it must not be the subject of another Captain’s Call by Jacinda Ardern and her close knit group of sycophants.
History is clear. The best way to grow an economy is for the Government to get out of the way and let businesses do what they do best: create jobs and wealth. New Zealand’s future should harness the entrepreneurialism, energy, and expertise of Kiwis wanting to build a good future for themselves and their families.
Until our borders re-open, many believe New Zealand’s future lies in exports. Everyone who produces goods and services needs to be given the opportunity to deliver for the export market. The Government could facilitate this by removing barriers to progress: replacing the consenting roadblock of the Resource Management Act with enabling legislation, ensuring any fast-tracked infrastructure projects expedite trade, and incentivising exports – along the lines of West Germany.
Perhaps an imaginative Sam Morgan type will create the bridge between local producers and the international marketplace via a “Kiwi Market” fashioned on ‘Alibaba.com’, a world leading e-commerce platform.
Most importantly, during this difficult period, its crucial to remember that with good ideas and motivation, the internet can deliver extraordinary results.
Just look at Captain Tom Moore, a British 99 year old who decided to walk 100 laps of his garden before he turned 100, to raise £1,000 to support the National Health Service during their time of crisis.
Thanks to the internet, he became a household hero around the world, raising over £30 million for the NHS. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described Colonel Tom, as he has now become, “A point of light in all of our lives”.
His inspirational story reminds us that anything is possible – and from our own back yard!
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Do you want the Government to be more or less active in the long term management of the economy?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| Business is far more aware of increasing its own business than an interfering government. | Peter |
| We are sitting on the edge of a socialist volcano and the globalists will martyr us for their cause. | Rossco |
| Not necessarily ‘more active’ but certainly ‘hands on’. It’s refreshing to finally have a proper ‘leader’ rather than the fluffy ones that the National Party tends to produce. Hindsight vision is always 20/20 so it’s very easy for the National Party and frequently the political commentators on this page to be critical. It’s a different story when you are the person at the top and the buck stops there! At least, right or wrong we actually have someone who is prepared to make the had calls and lead, not like the USA where they are blessed with an Office Manager rather than a true leader. | Alan |
| great articles from Sir Roger and Muriel. MMP must be ousted. Older wiser heads desperately needed to save NZ from economic failure along with the despair that will bring. Simon Bridges get out of the way, please, Time to revolt against Maori control of roads and police and government. Who do we trust anymore. Too scary. | Sam |
| Let the entrepreneurs loose ! | Terry |
| Their nit picking micro management is going to be a disaster. | Paloma |
| Remove red tape! | Phillip |
| Let’s get rid of Labour at the next election. They have been a disaster. They have achieved nothing, except a huge debt for years and years to come. | Robert |
| If they stayed out of it we would all be financially better off. | Eric |
| Step Back, Prime Liar. | Coral |
| Thank you for your excellent article Dr Muriel. Please; keep up your great work. | Ian |
| As Supreme comrade princess has no vision as a real leader, she will muddle along destroying our economic base with divisive policies until we vote her out. The opposition is not much better – where is our Donald Trump? | Monica |
| if you didn’t read the link to “When Margaret Thatcher became prime minister, please do so and ask the National and Act MPs to use those quotes in their election campaigns. Should be real nails in the the Labour coffin. | alan |
| The main role of government should be to create the best possible economic climate to allow businesses to operate and to thrive. There should be no laws or regulations which restrict business activities unnecessarily. Essentially, the government’s role should be more “hands-off”. | Laurence |
| Definitely less active | David |
| It is very disappointing to see New Zealand go backwards under Ardern. | Max |
| Much less as if they start to boss business around it will mean higher RMA cost’s and more bludgers in that waste of property they call parliament as few if any have any idea how to manage or run a company and it shows by the state this country will be in shortly, Bankrupted! | Richard |
| With an active socialist labor Govt we have seen major long-term mis-management of all economic activity whenever this crowd has been given power. Labor/Socialists have no understanding of how wealth is created. The less involvement they are given in economic activity or involvement, the better any country does. History has proven this. | Ced |
| Taxinda WILL destroy our economy. This unelected kolishun guvmint MUST go | Mike |
| Give business a clear mandate to activate the long term management of the economy | Jim |
| To quote Ronald Regan – Government isn’t the solution. government is the problem. Government, get out of the bloody way and let us get on with it. | Mike |
| We have had enough of SOCIALISM the younger folk of this country have been Brain Washed. They do not know the history of Labour. | Ross |
| We are heading towards totalitarianism under this government where personal freedom is under attack and NZers have been forced to stay at home by an arbitrary decision by Adern, rejecting the Pandemic Management Plan. NZ’s economy has been devastated by this decision and it’s clear that it is based on a socialist political agenda. | Kerry |
| Get rid of the RMA | Erwin |
| Whilst a widening of state control and the welfare state would be the preferred option for Labour and the Greens, this is not the option that would bring about a return of the nations prosperity. Socialism/communism have never worked in the past – look at the USSR and Venezuela as shining examples. The countries that fair best are those where their government’s tread is lightest. Given the immediate and medium term depression, and in some instances the demise, of the tourist industry our financial recovery will have to be based on our traditional industry, agriculture. We could also be assisted by a rejuvenation of the petrochemical industry if the precipitate cancellation of prospecting of these resources was reversed. Our biggest employers were those companies that employed 20 or less persons. Come-what-may it is essential that these employers are returned to good financial health as soon as possible. Reliance on increased taxation and a widening of state welfare dependency will only worsen the situation, but it would strengthen the centralised control so desired by by at least two and possibly three political parties in New Zealand. This course of action must be fought with vigour if citizens are have democratic freedom and a prosperous Country to live in. | Michael |
| Let free enterprise flourish with minimum interference from government , in other words cut red tape and get out of the way. Unfortunately this administration is hell bent on doing the complete opposite. I would be so bold to state that they have so far shown their lack of economic understanding and you don’t have to look back very far to qualify this statement. | Chris |
| I loathe Ardern and her stupidity, and her clueless admirers. We must get rid of her, her henchmen, Winston and his party and those stupid greens. Plus MMP must go. Just wish National and Act would start pulling this brainless lot apart. | Carolyn |
| Less Government always works best for a free society. | John |
| Less Government not more | Les |
| The last 6 weeks have been a graphic illustration of what too much government control in our lives brings. We need to tell our politicians to dismantle the amount of bureaucracy in New Zealand to free up costs for businesses. | Rex |
| The opposition does not look very promising but it must be better than the kindergarten we have now. the self promoting P.M. should go back to school, may be she can learn something but I have my doubts about that. And that so called cabinet it is impossible to find a one who know what they are talking about. Whit that lot in charge the ship New Zealand is heading for the rocks. | Johan |
| They’ve already done enough damage | Dennis |
| Time to get the skids under Cindy – NZ needs her gone. Vote National, and let’s get everyone working in real jobs – and cut no slack to slackers. It seems bizarre that she is keen to get back in power by linking legalising drug smoking to ensure the kind of people who might vote for her turn up.. I thought we were trying to stop people smoking cigarettes, and encourage healthier outcomes for essentially the Labour base? Only Cindy and Labour can%u2019t see everything that is wrong with that! | LUKE H |
| Let private enterprise loose. | David |
| They have no idea what their role is and zero ideas about how to kick start the economy. I’m unconvinced that National would be much better at the moment. Poor leadership at both central and local government will continue plague NZ for a considerable time to come in my opinion. | Alan |
| At least one party going into the elections has a policy of shrinking the Government and freeing things up! – see nc.org.nz | Ted |
| For a start it was Govt dictates that caused rental shortages by removing landlords business rights. We do not need this anti business meddling to increase. That is if there are any small businesses left after covid level 1 is eventually lifted. my guess that wont be allowed until after the election. Heaven help our economy if this Govt stays in power. | Richard |
| Watch comrade Jacinda at https://youtu.be/g9rsxFaq6Ig and be afraid! | Alan |
| This is not the Government of progress it is the Government of advancing Socialism. National must change Leadership and start to oppose. The future must see production orientated policy and “defence” against predatory commerce from overseas interests that are deliberate in their efforts to subvert NZ commerce. The size of Government must be reduced immediately and the Police State capability curtailed so it cannot happen again in the future for a new “UNREMARKABLE” virus. NZ will be lucky to survive this socialist attack on democracy let alone another one. With digital technology, computerisation and IT the ability to manufacture those items of everyday use is well within reach. Let’s Keep Moving.!” | Frederick |
| Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. | Gary |
| In Dr Muriel’s words – our future in NEW ZEALAND depends on “embracing freedom and liberty”. This can only be achieved by accepting equality between all citizens as the ultimate goal – denying separatism and two different laws to govern our nation of NEW ZEALAND. We are NEW ZEALAND – NOT aotearoa. The majority of the population does not agree with the ever changing wording of the treaty – (from only 5% of the total population) changed to suit every new claim. Combined with the totalitarianism of the present government this is the path they are setting in place. NO – NO- NO-. | anon |
| Common sense tells anyone with half an ounce of brain and business experience, Eurocrats and government wallahs must leave business to lose who know business. | Ian |
| Already too much government interference and I don%u2019t believe any of members of current government could run a business let alone the country. The lack of transparency in mainstream media is frightening . | Jacqui |
| History is rarely on the side of political management of the economy, once past the immediate impact of a crisis. What chance of a change of government in September? | Bruce |
| they are all a pack of dick heads who have no idea how to run a country unless they read Karl Marx.They would have us back in the Muldoon era in a wink.All the coverups have already started plus Jacinda has placed a ban on her so called ministers from fronting the media.What next? The maoris will block off the beaches and they will be given them by this corrupt so called govt. | ross |
| Just let business people do what they do best. Provide incentives for business to get going. | Andrew |
| we need a LOT less interference from government to do with the economy. Dismantle the tribal racists blocking the roads. | chris |
| Arden and her cronies have stuffed NZ for generations to come | David |
| Most definitely! I am sick of Jacinda telling us what to do. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. | Chandra |
| This team of incompetent Socialists does not have the brains or the experience to manage the economy out of this crisis. | Doug |
| Well this Govt have screwed it up completely, so no I don’t trust them. The disregard for small business, the lifeblood of all successful economies, is disgraceful. I belie e they have planned the demise of small businesses to push people into dependency on the state, a typical communist plot. I believe they have misread the New Zealand people, and that the people will get up and become stronger despite the Communist plotting. I believe the information we are being fed about the “virus” is incorrect and that any threat has passed. The danger to the old and vulnerable was there before and won’t go away. This exercise just shows up that we need to protect people in all stages of their life, from conception to the grave! I believe that the world’s hero, Trump, described the “virus” correctly to start with. He has had, and is still getting bad advice from a lot of the “experts” because they have an agenda that is not good for their country. J got it wrong here, and her agenda for the country is to sell us to the CCP and the UN. | Neil |
| Government tends to back the wrong horse – diet – climate and viral | Darag |
| Comrade Arden and her cronies should be bundled together and couriered to North Korea so can have the lifestyle they clearly want to impose on New Zealand. | Gary |
| DEREGULATION IS THE KEY, FIRST TO GET BOOTED INTO TOUCH SHOULD BE THE RMA, FOLLOWED BY THESE ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCILS. Followed by 60 wellington parasites, mean politicians | Sam |
| This government is fooling the population about the virus and using scare tactics to control the population as Hitler and Stalin did in the early 20th century. Don’t people learn from history? This government is becoming a dictatorship, and autocratic. I cannot believe N.Z.ers are so gullible. They are suppressing information, gagging M.Ps and giving misinformation. I fear for the future of our country. | Denis |
| Abolish MMP and get back to a Political landscape that benefited the people not the current fringe. | David |
| Everyone needs to get on board with rebuilding the Economy | Laurel |
| Totalitarianism,Communism, Socialism, Fascism its all the same for Labour.Thats the dangerous path we tread | dave |
| tell them to bugger off | phill |
| I don’t want them there at all. I’m sick and tired of our PM being praised. She is using us like Helen Clark did, to get to the UN. Cancel the government and let the business community run the country. At least they have knowledge to make things work. This 3 way crowd are sadly lacking in business acumen. History shows that if incentives are there, success will follow. This lot go from one failure to another failure. Cindy is all show,look at me,looks me, no substance. Politics is going downhill fast in this country. | Peter |
| None of them have any business experience, they are either academics or activists, either way they don’t have a clue | Kevin |
| I’m torn. The Government is made up from elected people from 3 parties. They have power. The “Free Market” people are their for personal and share-holder profit, and its history of greed and corruption make for grim reading. But the advisors have been awful.. However they were respected authorities.: e g Drs Nick Wilson, Michael Baker, Siouxie Wiles etc, It must be very hard for a non-scientist to just use their own instinct or commonsense. The result has been tragic .. and it may have been better with a stronger leader .. but there was world pressure also, and media: Lisa Owen always saying “deadly virus”. | Rochelle |
| The government must get out of the way and allow the entrepreneurs to come up with good ideas for prosperity. It is all business, from small to large, that will get us back on our feet as long as they are encouraged, taxes are reduced, and government, rules, bureaucracy and redtape is reduced. Enough of this insane desire to control and more of the creativity and positivity that comes from working hard in a free society. | Mary |
| The best course, as in West Germany’s post-war Wirtschafftwunder, is massive deregulation. | Richard |
| free enterprise works | edward |
| Let business get on with it. | Martin |
| Socialism is never the answer. Remove the red tape and let us move on with rebuilding the economy. | Derek |
| Definitely less active, in fact stay out of it all together and instigate Roger Douglass’s tax regime. | Graeme |
| the last 6 weeks should be enough to show concerned citizens that we cant trust the present Labour Govt | John |
| This is a left wing government and with it comes a wish to control and we don’t want that in any form. | Alan |
| They’ve already shown they’ve never had a real job between them – why would we let try to run our businesses | Alan |
| Excellent news letter this week Muriel! Thank you for all the info on the current situation! | Marianne |
| The Labour Party has proven to be useless 3 times in running & ruining our economy. With few exceptions they have little or no business skills so God help us if they get back in!!! | John |
| Step one is to break up Fonterra as the collective model has failed to add value and free up enterprises that can add value to our dairy exports | Hugh |
| Govt needs to set up a Royal Commission to identify which Ministries should be abolished, or privatised. | Jim |
| The roadblocks are all about extending Maori law in order to soften us up for the coming Constitutional change, written by ex-Labour Party PM, Geoffrey Palmer, co-writer of the Principles of the Treaty of Prof. Hugh Kawharu. Admitted on page 663 of the 1987 Court of Appeal document between the New Zealand Maori Council and Attorney General (CA 54/87), this Court accepted an unauthorised text by Prof. Hugh Kawharu to install the “Principles of the Treaty”. There are no Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, only that of Prof Kawharu! When I attended the first Constitutional Meeting at Te Papa Nin Thomas made it clear our new written Constitution was to be modelled on the Constitution of Bolivia. Please listen to RNZ broadcast below, your future depends upon it: http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ideas/ideas-20090308-1110-Ideas_for_8_March_2009.ogg | George |
| In your post, & the well worth reading article contributed by Sir Roger, many worthwhile points are raised, & many good recommendations for recovery are put forward. Will ‘Cinders be vaguely interested? NO of course not. This CCP Flu is the perfect excuse to control the entire {except for Maori descendants} population. What a perfect excuse to entrench her Marxist ideology, while the Sheeple of NZ sing her praises for saving their worthless lives. Those of us who seek the truth, like yourself Muriel, & those that support you. are now branded EXTREMISTs & once Andrew Little has his hate speech bill passed, which will happen shortly, ALL freedom of speech, especially that which opposes the view of the LEFT, will be considered illegal. $50million was a small price to pay, to ensure the M.S.M in this country remain loyal to their Globalist-Marxist masters. $50million there, nearly $60million to descendants of Maori. Why was that money not used to support small business owners who were shut down through no fault of their own. No, the money goes to those who will vote for you.. So who cares if the entire nation goes broke. Just means Communism can be introduced even sooner.. | A.G.R. |
| The government did the right thing as far as I am concerned in locking down the country to get rid of the virus. Sure it will hurt some businesses, however loans and grants have been put in place to alleviate the damage. Labour have never been a political party of free enterprise and spend their time propping up down and outs and deterring free enterprise. Fortunately an election in four months will allow the populace to decide their future. | Dennis |
| This weeks collection displays not one comment from a professionally educated bacteriologist/virologist, who may be able to get to the point without indulging in a vituperative attack on those who are trying to see NZ through this Godawful mess which affects the whole world, not just this little dot at the end of the map. | Mabel |
| Government and Councils are too top heavy to carry out business enterprise profitably. | kathy |
| To many government restrictions.. No one in this government has business experience | Bev |
| We certainly do not need any more State control. Businesses will need assistance initially as Labour has trashed our economy and then the entrepreneurs should be allowed to get on with what they do best without State control | Helen |
| Of course Labour will never let go of the reins now unless it gets voted out. It will lock us into more and more restrictions (except for Maoris) and they will believe they are doing the right thing. | Fraser |
| This government of losers needs to be gone. They are not only the worst thing that has ever happened to NZ they are the most dangerous. | Richard |
| I guess getting guns out of public ownership is definitely part of the long term plan for this dictatorship and you can see why | Hugh |
| Halve the numbers of politicians and get out of the economy | Bev |
| Not only do I want them to be less active, but I want them to strip the Health and Safety Legislation to the bone and remove all of the nonsensical nitpicking that employs an army of clipboard hitlers who cost everyone a fortune and impede the progress of every business in the country. Every piece of that legislation needs line by line analysis on a cost benefit ratio. Instead of health and safety rules, we should have a training regime that teaches people personal responsibility and self reliance and remove Company Directors and Business owners from the responsibility of carrying the financial can for people who do stupid stuff and cause accidents. If people behave in a stupid and irresponsibility way, then they must bear the consequences. Those consequences should not be borne by somebody else. The same goes for the RMA. | Dianna |
| The lesser the better. They have no economic credentials. | John |
| Free market every time. | J J |
| It has been an ‘eye-opening’ 5 weeks. Is there a business man in the Labour members in the house?? | Dick |
| the bureaucrats & socialists have taken over .Look forward to a totalarism state if they get back in. Covid 19 heaven sent for Comrades Helen ,Heather & Jacinda | Bill |
| I can’t see this govt giving up their newly acquired power any time soon – I WISH!!! | Janet |
| Less active for all our sakes. We need to encourage resilience not dependence. | Peter |
| Can not wait! | Jill |
| All restrictions should be abolished so people and businesses can get on with restoring the economy | John |
| The govt should get rid of all restricting legislation so businesses can do their job of creating wealth and improve the economy | John |
| Too much Bureaucracy. it has gotten worse over the term of this Government with Iwi and Greens input and approval everywhere being put into the local and government legislation. | Gary |
| Governments especially Labour governments are extractive and do not create value | John |
| This government does not understand business, so how are they going to undo all the damage done by both the virus and their handling of it? | Catherine |
| The Government is a parasite. This country needs a bloody good drench! | ROBERT |
| Governments have never helped in restoring an economy the success lies with private enterprise .And for New Zealand to claw her way out of this over extended lock down the private and an enterprising public will save us from ruin. Get shot of this Government and give back our freedom. | Ken |
| Unfortunately, since the time Ruth Richardson was sacked as finance minister by Prime Minister Bolger, we have gradually lost the benefits brought on by Rogernomics. Cindy’s government has the potential to be the last nail in the coffin. | Willy |
| Incompetent | Jean |
| Hands Off Jacinda – you and your cohorts. You were elected to govern at our pleasure not for your agenda. CC | Caro |
| The last thing we need is a return to the Muldoon style centralised,, big Government economy. The inefficiency of Govt and Bureacrats running things has been highlighted by the shocking way that this current Covid debacle has been and continues to be handled by the same crowd. It would be a disaster for the future of NZ’. | Allan |
| Of course the government can be active in encouraging economic growth but for the most part government can help most by keeping out of the way. While we are on that subject, at the preset moment with the economy in trouble is a time when we need to trim the parasitic fat from many government and semi-government organisations. | Rob |
| Our governing politicians have no idea of what it takes to run a business and it is only business that will bring our economy back | Frank |
| We must not let the Jacindarama show continue. I am sick of her sleazy condescending attitude as if she knows what we want. Well Jacinda, what we want is for you and your merry band of sycophants to be gone. | Robert |
| Give us a tax cut and let us get on with it! | Len |
| west germany and margaret thatcher are a great role model, lets follow them. | norman |
| we can not be held back by idiots | barry |
| Bureaucrats need to be assessed by a person like Dr Beeching and ruthlessly directed into productive employment. | Chris |
| The best way to bugger something up is to let a bunch of half intelligent list members make decisions on behalf of the country. | John |
| Excessive government controls usually end up with the people in a totalitarian society. This is not what is needed. | Brian |
| I am of an age where I have experienced every Labour Government since the Black Budget of the 1950s. Every time, Labour destroys the incentive to work hard and build the economy by putting a new tax or increasing the tax on every consumer item. It was only by a small margin that we avoided the Capital Gains Tax promised by the present Prime Minister. She must have been very frustrated. Great. When they have overtaxed everything they then borrow beyond the limit in order to control the workers and of course the Covid 19 was the wonderful excuse to do just that. Still to come over the next few months are new and novel ways to recoup the overspent coffers with who knows what, new ways of justifiably taking cash out of our pockets. Just wait for next weeks budget. Even more serious is the move, as well explained by Dr Newman, to actually support, by not doing anything to stop the law breaking, devious Maoris and their false roadblocks. The orchestrated campaigns on Facebook, against anyone who dares to question or criticize the PM, is as underhand as it is dirty politics. We must get rid of this three party government and MMP. | Chris |
| There are simply zero examples of increased government intervention leading to improved economic outcomes, whereas the free market proves otherwise. | Geoff |
| Me think’s this government is using this Situation to create an environment for a socialist pandemic. Ardern is certainly no guardian Angel. | Henry |
| Much less government action. In his e-book PRODUCTION VS PLUNDER, Paul Rosenberg studies the rise and fall of civilisations and regimes from beyond the birth of Christ up to the present day. His conclusion reached is to DECENTRALISE and MINIMALISE GOVERNMENT POWER. In other words what he is saying is that civilisation should be seen to be the progress towards privacy. | Don |
| we have had far too much “government’ in the running of our economy for decades now. Rogernomics was not the success story that so many want to believe either. He destroyed NZ’s SME’s, they have never recovered. | Bob |
| I trust NEW ZEALAND business to implement the appropriate actions that will lead to a quick recovery. I trust that Comrade Cinders will continue to apply strategies that will impede recovery, promote government control that will drag NEW ZEALAND further into a welfare state. | Bruce C |
| The Govt has already demonstrated that they are incompetent in control and distribution of tax payer funds. | IAN |
| This socialist coalition govt has been far too intrusive, dictatorial and too free with Tax payers money in shoring up her gross over reaction to Covid 19. A billionaires company even receiving $1.3 M!!!!. New Zealand MUST get back to the law being the same for everybody. The next govt MUST UNITE the country. Scrub the Waitangi Tribunal, end the claims process and get everyone on the same page to progress | Graeme |
| We need to get rid of the screaming socialists of the “greens”.If they get any more influence, they will make Stalin’s Russia look benign | Sid |
| Is there a Margaret Thatcher to step into the breach ? | Catherine |
| Given the economic disaster that they have generated from this medical emergency, I believe that this “government” – which, if you remember, was put in power by a very underhanded political process – should be consigned to the history books. New Zealand is being turned into a socialist state in which welfare beneficiaries will soon be the largest voting bloc. It will be very difficult to recover if this process is permitted to proceed to its ultimate conclusion. | TOBY |
| It is not just the our one party state that is the problem the inter-net corprets are censering the likes of u-tube I have found that I can nolonger shaer concrevitive sites on Fase-book or eany of the online forems and as you may notes my spellcheck is selitive as to what sites it works on. | Norman |
| What we need, what we have always needed is less Government and more enterprise. | Trevor |
| They have ably demonstrated their inability to achieve anything of substance in the business success world. They are good at the talk but poor on action, i.e. Kiwibuild etc. Everything they touch has ended up a disaster. Get out of the way and let businesses do what they do best. | Roy |
| Stop the form filling & paper shuffling to eliminate the wasted hours and funds, so that entrepreneurs can do their thing. Of course, anyone being reckless or harming anyone should still face the consequences but let people take responsibility themselves. | Fiona |
| How can any group of individuals understand, and then appropriately influence an economy, when none of that group has had an economy based job or venture. Academics advising academics is not a sound footing for decision making | Fraser |
| Why do we need some many of the Sociopaths there anyway. People can make good choices if without coercion | Neil |
| labour has wrecked the economy through not quarantining the people on day one | Murray |
| Their economic policies (or lack of knowledge of them) will only lead us into greater death and untold social grief | sheryl |
| Sir Roger Douglas has been demonised far too long. De-regulation is desperately needed, starting the with the monopolies of over-protected, overpriced professions. | Colin |
| Ordinary Kiwi,s have EXCELLENT idea,s NOT this Govt. so let people decide for themselves what to do,jacinda & her cahoots have RUINED this country so they should GET OUT. | Cindy |
| Muriel explained it very well. | June |
| Keep them completely out would be best | Norm |
| A lot less active Never forget centrally run economies always inevitable fail as decision makers are political and think they know what is best for us – THEY DON’T | Bruce |
| I was concerned to see David Parker’s aims aims for the RMA. That could be a make or break result. | Patsy |
| Just so because of their untrustworthy Socialist agenda! | Cyril |
| Socialism does NOT work Just look at history so the Government needs to get out of the economy and let business do what it does best Be innovative and prosperous and then we will recover as quickly as is possible Central planning does not work but a frame work within which the business sector must operate needs to be established and that needs to be as open as is possible. One of the first things that needs to dealt with is the RMA and its very restrictive agenda. Put in place the rules that need to be followed to allow development and let business get on with it. Stop the totally ridiculous objections and Iwi consultancy practices that now add years and costs onto projects. A classic example is the Watercare request to take more water from the Waikato river Years and years in the processes and no closer to a resolution and this is just to turn the existing tap on a bit more. | Robin |
| We couldn’t trust Jacinda with our guns. Why would we trust her with our economy | DJ |
| Our present govt is not capable of getting us out of a brown paper bag we need a govt that gives power to the people to make there own decisions with out interference | Russell |
| let free enterprise come to the fore | Bob |
| lets regain ur freedoms | Tony |
| Inept politicians have little place in the realities of business. | Lionel |
| How much More Active could this government and its Officials become in running and ruling our daily lives, without actually becoming declared a Socialist State. Beware New Zealand as a Brand is doomed. Aotearoa fits the new normal and there is a lack of political will from either major party to halt that inevitable outcome. Feeling pretty pessimistic ! | stewart |
| Business and private interests will make the recovery happen and will do better if government gets out of the way. | Peter |
| They are now doing more harm than good and I cannot see them improving in the future | Margaret |
| No, they have shown them selves to be inept already beyond comprehension | John |
| They are clueless about business. | Gail |
| Non existent for the current lot – they haven’t a business brain among them. | pdm |
| Less active of course. Contrary to most I think the Govt. did a fine job of handling the current public health emergency. Slow to start with border controls but are to be given credit for what they have achieved in keeping the death toll down. Keep them away from running the economy though. As an aside despite the praise some are giving the nation for the fortitude they have shown I am not sure the current generation could have handled the 30’s & 40’s in our lucky country. It would have been “it’s not fair, we didn’t start it all and who do ‘they’ are to order us what to do.” | Bruce |
| Labour has no idea as to what they are doing or saying they are completely out if there depth!! | Sally-Anne |
| Socialism does not work. More business in government – less government in business is the way forward. | Michael |
| Macro please. Equal rights. Encourage the work ethic. Rely more on experts not political point scoring | Doug |
| Free market advocate | John |
| We must have a free market economy. | Jill |
| They have ruined it now time they bailed out and let the people who run the business get on with it without restrictions | Peter |
| Socialist / Communist states such as Arderns have no experience in long term management of economies. She has no one in her Cabinet who has any business experience or acumen. She remains a disaster. | Jenny |
| The more the government gets involved in business the worse things become | Tony |
| The gradual introduction of a more socialistic environment, particularly over the last couple of years, has seen our current coalition government wanting to take more control over the activities of our lives, and those who want to progress are being stymied by regulation and the need to ask permission to carry on. At the same time our PM appears to be using more and more, the “working group”approach to all policy decisions that the government announces. ie if it doesn’t work no one is to blame.As for the media, even if the have yet to realise it ,are the perfect platform for this governments plans for the future. | Barry |
| There is far too much interference by bureaucrats in all aspects of daily living | Gareth |
| We need to get rid of these socialist meddlers in Government and go for a more market economy. | Errol |
| Less active! A government whose decisions are based on knee jerk reactions driven by anxiety and hysteria will always make the wrong decisions. The people are the economy. Give them unfettered conditions for free enterprise and we will make a sound and durable recovery. | Lee |
| If Labour wins the next election, this country is doomed and our lives and those of future generations will be shattered. | Valerie |
| There will “always be a divide between the rich and the poor…” Life’s tough, so get used to it.. | ChrisH |
| Plenty of Kiwi spirit will get us through if the govt can keep their grubby noses out of it. | Tim |
| Who else has the money to invest | Alan |
| The more the government involves itself in the management of the economy, the quicker NZ will turn to communism. The new slogan for NZer’s should be “Make Labour and Jacinda GO AWAY” | ROD |
| let the shakers and movers come forward to restore our independence, it is time we moved away from the cheap and nasty exports from CHINA. | Frank |
| Much, much less! | Peter |
| 22 ministers only two have had a job outside the public service ? | Stan |
| Read Sir Roger Douglas’s article and you will see why, how and when. Makes complete sense as opposed to the willy nilly manner the Govt. is currently adopting. Paul Henry’s Rebuilding Paradise at 9.30 on TV3 last night proved without a doubt the Tourism Minister is out of and was left floundering ..a perfect example of Govt. ineffectiveness and plans. | Robyn |
| The helping hand has been great. Now let individuals carry out their own ideas, which can be brilliant, without too much red tape. | Sheila |
| I have far more confidence in the private sector given the freedom to perform than I do in tired comfortable and out of touch bureaucrats lead by governments that are not even the choice of the people but rather an arrangement of strange alliances that overpower the peoples choice. | Al |
| Lead, help, or get out of the way. | Kerrie |
| We need to be able to determine our own future without being hamstrung by bureaucracy and compliance. | Sheila |
| leave us alone and let the people run their own lives and bus. | William |
| We need a free economy not dictated to by bureaucrats. Freedom of speech and social freedom. | Pierre |
| We have come to the Crossroads in our Economic future.in New Zealand. I have a feeling the coming Election will reveal this. | Geoff |
| Get rid of this so called government and get a proper thinking lot of politicians to make New Zealand a great place to work and live | John |
| We have had enough of socialist, racially biased, democracy suppressing ,fear -mongering controlling Wellington | Bryan |
| I definitely do NOT want this Government having any management of my life | Tony |
| Jacinda should be very wary of continuing her present philosophy. totalitarianism in this country like others previously have always resulted in misery and failure. | gale |
| We need LESS government at every level if NZ is to recover and prosper in the future. We must not bequeath a Marxist/communist future to our children and grandchildren. | Alice |
| The government simply gets in the way and as for choosing ‘winners’ well none of this lot have any experience in business. | Roger |
| We can not go down the road of state control for everything. Already we have a bloated parliament with to many MP’s trying to control all sectors of the Country. | Merv |
| We are in serious long term threat from Comrade Ardern than we ever were from Covid19. | Mike |
| The government has Zero economic or business acumen, the best we can hope is they reduce red tape and allow New Zealanders to get on and rebuild the economy and prosperity the government has destroyed with their loony and illegal home detention of law abiding and healthy kiwi’s. | John |
| Get these Evil Socialists out NOW !!! | Greg |
| The governments job has gone beyond what its purpose was set up to do, when established in the late 1800s. We should be a republic and let the people vote for whom those they think will do the best job in running the country. We should have only no more than a dozen people in a parliament, elected by the people. This current MMP is not working. I’m just glade that I’m over 70 and won’t have to be around in the next 20 years to see the future result of what today’s governments are doing to this country. | Reg |
| Bring on free-enterprise, de-regulated labour reforms and free up property rights. Unleash the shackles! | David |
| Let business get on and do what this government could never do. Grow NZ’s economy. | Darryl |
| dictator out of our lives | Bud |
| Communism and all the “ism’s” which fall under this umbrella, have never worked and never will. This is the road which this dam government want to lead us down, and screwing with the economy is one of the main tools they will use in trying to implement their scheme. | Kevin |
| Definitely less active | Graeme |
| Less, they are a bunch of self serving clueless but very dangerous idiots and they’ve gotta go | Carolyn |
| This “orchestrated” pandemic was done to allow Socialism to gain a rapid foothold in smaller countries. After all she was the President of the International Union of Socialist Youth | John |
| Agree with the Margaret Thatcher philosophy – Govt needs to get out of the way! | Candy |
| Less government & massive reduction in bloated government workers & extortionist consultants riding the gravy train. Removal of working for families for all. Overhaul taxation & introduce a flat tax applicable to all & especially finance industry & abolition of all taxes as we know them today & bloated industry which sustains them ( ie; No need for accountants Tax lawyers whom contribute nothing to our society other than their bloated fees) | Warren |
| Not printable | Russ |
| I am dreaming of course | Frank |
| Haven’t they done enough damage already? | Tina |
| Keep Govt out of the way and allow Free Enterprise room to move. And, reduces opportunities for hidden agendas. | Grahame |
| The current Govt. , being stacked with totally inept and inexperienced ideologists, has delivered enough evidence to proof that everything they touch turns to custard. In a previous post I wrote that we need professionals to do proper damage control, not a bunch of glove puppets. I repeat, the citizens of this country will only start to wake up when they really hurt and then it will be too late. This will show in the following 3 months. The damage we will suffer will be so extensive that even a change of mind will not help to turn things around. That will be a long and painful road for us ( except the very wealthy) | Michael |
| If they are more active they will take us further down the Socialist path of controlling everything | David |
| Even WINZ are surreptitiously following people. | Kevin |
| Political interference with the productive side of the economy with growing central control by the current children supposedly running the show will be catastrophic with the lefts supposed support base being hurt he most as always | Phil |
| After the shambles of scaremongering kiwis into submission for the projected modeling of 60 to 80 thousand deaths if we didn’t do as they said then you wouldn’t want them running a sunday school picnic. | Brian |
| Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. We don’t seem to have an opposition government. They don’t know what to do with their leader so how could they possibly make decisions on the countries direction. | Chris |
| I want this government out of our lives entirely, they are just plain evil. | Chris |
| As more people are made redundant, this message should be pushed home to them as to who is to blame. Not forgetting that it was one Winston Peters who got us into this mess in the first place, his spite knows no boundaries , Ardern has been brainwashed all her life in the ways of communism, those socialist camps did a good job, took away any form of common sense, replaced it with slogans, pathetic comes to mind. | Merryl |
| Put beggars on horseback and they’ll ride to the devil. | dennis |
| If you look at 1933 Germany with the rise of the fachism, state control of the economy and industry, rise of the bureaucracy, disarming of the population, demonisation of the Jews (White supremists), use of the brownshirts (tribal gangs) the number of similarities is staggering. The economic damage from these statist policies has been huge, but unfortunately the government have become addicted to power and their iron hand on the economy will not cease without a change in government. To make it worse they also completely control the media too and no country opinion is allowed. | Mike |
| The economy will rebound without too much interference from the Government | Kevin |
| The micro managing by the govt is a total failure. | Robin |
| A Libertarian type of government would be our best answer. Beat the bastards back! | Rob |
| They help most when helping less | Kelvin |
| Those career bureaucrats haven’t got a clue how to run a business let alone a countries economy | Laurie |
| Let business get on with it. Provide an enabling environment without blocks. | Lesley |
| Let business run itself. It could not do any worse than what this govt. is doing. | Graeme |
| Quote from Ronald Reagan: The problem with government is there’s too much of it . They’re the REAL problem!! | Tony |
| The best result will be to crush them at the polls in September | Allan |
| It could not be better spoken. The future of NZ will be determined in the next year. Don’t assume sense will prevail. The socialist goal is always power at any cost. | Michael |
| They are ruining this country so they must step back and the business sector do its job. They are attempting to create a nation to expect financial hand out to fix the issues they knowingly created. | Kristene |
| I just want these idiots gone..! | Rod |
| Propping up businesses makes them to govt. dependent. Sure many have been damaged by the lockdown so the govt. has destroyed their income. As we move forward time to break that dependence. | Peter |
| Look at the mess the government has got us in. Keep them right out of running anything! | Mark |
| No more Socialist mismanagement | Alan |
| Definitely less active – we do NOT want the State to control the direction of the economy otherwise it will take decades and massive upheaval to recover. | Murray |
| There is no doubt that the support that the government has been giving businesses is very welcome. But then they created this mess in the first place. The last thing we need is for them to try to control things in the future. | Linda |
| Free enterprise is the only future for NZ if we want to avoid becoming a third world basket case! | Jordan |
| The less state control, the better. | Terry |
| It was an illegal lockdown and the Government has done untold damage to the business sector. They need to support businesses while they find their feet, then butt out! | Stephen |