Rumour has it Nicky Hager’s new book may feature the Taxpayers’ Union. In 2023, he said we weren’t worth a book – so I’m flattered we may have finally made the cut.
Nothing to hide and no need to speculate. What'll be in the book is already here (from 2023): https://t.co/Y6dTLoA7Gl
"Decisions could have been improved in hindishgt" sums up Willis's Covid-19 RBNZ report
Desperate and how much did she pay for this, at our expense?
#nzpol#COVIDー19
More bullying anti-maori legislation passed under urgency & cover of darkness
Why is this sort of legislation considered urgent in the first place?
#ditchthepricksin26
Auckland leaders’ warnings over Māori votes ignored by Govt, bruising relationships https://t.co/VeIMQ0Qs2B
So having railed for three years against a “tax cut for landlords” (which it isn’t) he’s seen the light. Just makes it even harder to make their numbers add up - how will they fill their $18 billion hole now?
How does this compare to the damage a Cow in a grass paddock will do to the enviorment ??
NZ farming going broke won't solve anything so time our Green party woke up.
The bureaucracy has grown by 39% since Ardern became Prime Minister, has the quality gotten any better?
Or have we simply thrown more money and more people at the problem without seeing the results taxpayers deserve?
Jordan Williams was on Q+A this Sunday explaining exactly what’s in our Taxpayer Manifesto and what we should be asking every party seeking to form the next Government.
More spending isn’t the same as better government.
Listen to full interview on Q&A's YouTube channel, link in comments.
ACT Party candidate Paul Henry gives his thoughts on the oil and gas industry.
“It’s vital for our economy. We should be attracting the biggest companies, the best companies to come here’”.
Tane Webster spoke to ACT Party candidate Paul Henry at his event in New Plymouth last Friday.
𝗟𝗮��𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝘆𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆
“Labour’s announcement today confirms ACT’s diagnosis that a disease has set into New Zealand politics, with every other party now competing to scare off investment by threatening interventions much worse than the oil and gas ban,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“The Greens want to expropriate supermarkets and run it themselves. National have joined New Zealand First in wanting to forcibly break up legitimate businesses, and now Labour want to add a whole new layer of bureaucracy to their own version of expropriation.
“The oil and gas ban was devastating, but the Government has a right to stop issuing permits, however disruptive that may have been. It is quite another matter to actively break up and take over existing companies.
“Labour’s policy is an echo of their actions in Government, only more pernicious. Last time they put in place a grocery supplier code, required supermarkets to wholesale to their competitors, and created a Grocery Commissioner. If any of their past interventions worked, they wouldn’t need to release these policies today.
“This time they want to expropriate the co-op that is owned by local Foodstuffs stores, and separate an Australian-owned business without considering the repercussions for our ANZAC relationship.
“On their best day these other policies might save a few dollars a week, and that day is far into the future. Ordinary food price inflation will cancel out the gains many times over before any shopper even sees them. On their worst day they will backfire and make groceries more expensive, according to their own reports.
“One factor that other politicians never consider is the effect of weakening New Zealand supermarket buying power against the large multi-nationals that provide around a quarter of their goods. Think Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, Nestlé, these companies are whales to New Zealand supermarkets’ tadpoles, and if the logic is to weaken New Zealand supermarkets’ power, the whales will win.
“The most likely outcome is simply costly restructures, more hesitancy to invest, and less chance of a third competitor entering New Zealand from overseas. Why would you take the risk when the political environment is so volatile. Why would anyone else think this behaviour will be confined to the grocery sector?
“ACT now stands alone for the simple idea this country was built on. The idea that people should be able to own property and profit from it if they do well, accepting the losses if they don’t. Business is difficult enough without worrying if your own Government will attack you any time politicians get a bad focus group.
“The disease of New Zealand politics today is cynical, focus-group driven, knee-jerk reactions to large problems. Politicians hear a complaint and try to play the hero by attacking a group of New Zealanders as the scapegoat of the hour.
“This politics erodes the trust and certainty needed for investment and innovation. It’s careless about the long-term effect on our country so long as those behind it think they’ll get a short-term political gain.
“We’ve seen it over and again these last six years as prices have risen as fast as, or faster than, wages. When petrol felt expensive, Jacinda said we were being ‘fleeced’ by the petrol stations. When rents went up, new taxes and regulations were put on landlords. When butter was in the news, it was Fonterra, then electricity companies, then banks, now supermarkets.
“None of this pile on mentality has made life more affordable. It’s usually ended with another layer of regulation and bureaucracy, such as the Grocery Commissioner and supplier code. New Zealand has simply been left divided and blame-happy by this pattern of political behaviour.
“New Zealanders are looking for hope, and security to build on that hope. That means tackling our long-term productivity slump, weak monetary policy, and loose Government spending that has seen prices inflate away ahead of wages. None of this is easy, but it is possible with sensible, thoughtful leadership.
“If we are serious about making life more affordable, there is no benefit in picking on a different group each year as if that will solve our problems.” ACT will:
• Shrink the size of Government by making it smaller and more efficient at delivering the services New Zealanders really need for a price this economy can afford
• Cut red tape and stupid rules that prevent New Zealanders from investing and innovating
• Unite New Zealanders where each of us are seen as fundamentally good and equal people instead of obsessing over identity politics.
#NZ “economy has shrunk by 0.8% in inflation, population & seasonally adjusted terms since the coalition Government took power in the December 2023 quarter”. Economic policy failure is driving business closures, job losses & emigration. #TimeForAChange
https://t.co/8HKMHuaqC9