The question everyone’s asking about Christopher Luxon – or to be more precise, the question everyone who’s interested in politics and New Zealand’s future is asking about Christopher Luxon – is this: what sort of leader (and potentially prime minister) will he be? Judging by what we’ve seen and heard over the past few days, the answer is that he’ll probably be like most previous National leaders. Continue reading

This week, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta recorded a lengthy podcast with the Taxpayers’ Union. If you missed it, or do not want to spend 32 minutes unpicking platitudes, here is a summary: Continue reading

I’ve learned a number of lessons from the pandemic. The most important are about the features of life that we once took for granted. As I’ve reflected on those things, there is one that stands out. It’s something we’ve always had in this country. Something our forefathers fought for. It’s something we’ve now lost. In Auckland we are struggling without it. It’s called freedom. I’m missing our freedom. Continue reading

It’s a great line, that: “The team of 5 million”. It may have been written by a public relations person, but it has been delivered eloquently and repeatedly by our Prime Minister. So much so that she has made it her own. It’s a very clever line. Brilliant in fact. When we first heard it, it was uplifting, and over the past 18 months it has served a purpose of encouraging co-operation with our Covid response across the country. Continue reading

Even Labour’s most one-eyed supporters must be aware by now that the Three Waters reform being pushed by Nanaia Mahuta is fast becoming a make-or-break issue for the government. The eight-week “engagement” period that ended on September 30 saw a swathe of councils across the nation objecting — sometimes angrily — to the proposed changes to the management of drinking water, storm water and wastewater. Continue reading

In the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed a bit more commentary starting to appear about the behaviour of the media. One of the often repeated charges is that the media is demonstrating bias in favour of the Government and against the various Opposition parties. This may not be a popular view, but I think there has historically been a natural bias in the media, one that favours the left side of politics. I suspect it’s a hangover from the old Fleet Street days in the UK when members of the press traditionally came from and thus took the side of the working class Continue reading

With the sudden emergence into our political life of the revolutionary report He Puapua, it is clear New Zealanders are at a crossroads. We will have to decide whether we want our future to be that of an ethno-nationalist state or a democratic-nationalist one. Continue reading