#OTD in 1796, George Washington delivered his farewell address - a speech full of wisdom and prescience, and as relevant today as ever. One passage in particular has always stayed with me:
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports... Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
๐ก๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ: ๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฒ
ACT has won a major victory for local democracy. Todayโs Government Amendment Paper closes the Auckland loophole and adopts the final part of my Memberโs Bill to end unelected voting rights on council committees,โ says ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton.
โRatepayers should be able to vote out every person who votes on how their money is spent. Councils have handed that power to appointees who never asked the public for a mandate.
โIn April, I lodged a Bill to stop it. The Government picked up 90 per cent, but Aucklandโs Houkura board was left out. ACT pushed for the remaining 10 per cent, and today we got it.
โHoukura representatives can still sit at the table and offer advice. They just wonโt get a vote Aucklanders never gave them.
โIf you want a vote, win one.
โI thank Simon Watts for taking the reform all the way. Without ACTโs Bill, this democratic loophole would still be open.
โParty Vote ACT to lock Labour out and unlock New Zealandโs potential.โ
I am delighted to announce that the official Election Bribe-O-Meter is back for 2026!
The short point is the Government has no money.
Deficits remain.
That means every extra dollar of political promises represents new borrowing (or a new tax!).
And, to be frank, the parties are at it again. Some politicians are playing fast-and-loose with their costings...
For example, as exposed on Monday, the Greens' so-called "KiwiMart" costings are a joke. They're saying they can do it for $2.8 billion.
Our boffins estimate Chlรถe Swarbrick has underestimated the true cost by $1.9 billion!
So, after being retired back in 2017, we've had to dust off the old girl.
James, Ray, and Levi have been burning the midnight oil to research, clarify, and cost all the political campaign spending promises announced up to Sunday night.
It's been a huge job!
A great and justified serve from Rodney Hide to this yet further abysmal stream of antisemitic bilge out of @NewZealandMFA and our Jew hating Marxist @MFATNZ whom should be fired in total, the whole department, for the harm they are doing. You bet Trump is watching ... you bet there are trade implications to supporting Islamic terrorism.
'A country that woke up to 1,195 of its own dead should not have to ask Wellingtonโs permission before finishing the job.
A country that has the right to exist has the right to defend itself.'
https://t.co/QYLiltzysM