Radio NZ reports:

A million-dollar Christmas tree is going up in downtown Auckland, leaving some baulking at the council’s spending while its residents struggle through a cost-of-living crisis.

Auckland Council hasn’t revealed the price of the 18m steel tree, set to stand in Te Komititanga Square (formerly Elizabeth Square) on lower Queen Street. However, the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance says it costs up to $1.3 million.

Auckland Council is stumping up $800,000 for the tree.

Private organisations Heart of the City, the central city’s business association, and Precinct Properties, a major landholder and developer, are funding the rest.

Heart of the City is 98% funded by Auckland Council, so actually it is ratepayers funding almost the entire $1.3 million.

I’m in favour of council funded Christmas trees, just as I’m also in favour of ratepayer funded steps to access a beach. However that doesn’t mean it is a good idea at any price.

Just like the $1.2 million for steps down to a New Plymouth beach is outrageous, so is a $1.3 million Christmas tree – especially as other Councils manage it for a few thousand dollars.

Taxpayers are funding 20 Future Leader Fellowships. Each one is worth over $800,000 so we are talking over $16 million from taxpayers.

MBIE has delegated decisions on who gets them to the Royal Society of NZ. And their criteria are:

• At least 20% must go to researchers who are Māori
• At least 10% must identify as Pacific ethnicity
• At least 50% must go to researchers who identify as female

So male Asian and European researchers are discriminated against.

Also interesting is that to qualify to be Maori you need to have Maori ancestry, but for Pacific you only need to identify as Pacific. So could a Fijian Indian qualify? How about someone from Australia?

Surely it is time for the Government to take back science funding to itself, rather than delegate it to a woke leftwing activist group.

Fresh Desk is one of those socially conscious companies. They boast they pay they are a living wage employer, only use eco-friendly cleaning products and are deeply into corporate social responsibility.

But as Stuff reports:

A commercial cleaning company that said it was was ‘testing the market’ by advertising a job with no pay has apologised and pulled the job advert.

Fresh Desk advertised an intern cleaning position in Wellington on Seek NZ. The only catch was the job applicant would be working for free, with the advertisement stating the role was a “voluntary position.”

“We are testing the market to see if there is any interest in voluntary cleaning,” it read.

The steaming hypocrites. They boast they are a living wage employer, and they’re trying to get people to clean for them for free on the basis of learning cleaning skills!

President Milei of Argentina took office just 10 months ago when monthly (not annual) inflation was at a massive 25.5%. This means that every week your groceries cost 6% more than the week before. Within that one month they cost a quarter more.

Monthly inflation has now dropped to 2.7%. Still too high by our standards, but almost a miracle for Argentina.

Milei haș done it by austerity and deregulation. He abolished various ministries. After 13 years of deficits he achieved a surplus in six months. The currency was deregulated.

All this huge economic success sees the media regularly refer to him as controversial, while lauding left wing politicians who achieve nothing but say the right things.

The Daily Wire reported:

A second House committee announced Tuesday that FEMA Director Deanne Criswell would be questioned on guidance issued from a now-fired supervisor for relief workers in Florida to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”

This has had some reporting in the media, but not much. This is part of the reason why trust in institutions is declining. It should be unthinkable that the disaster relief arm of Government would tell staff to not deliver support to houses with signs supporting one candidate.

It it too easy to dismiss that as one bad supervisor, but you have to question the culture that allowed this. The moment she said this, staff should have challenged this and felt confident doping so. They should know this is clearly wrong.

There is something rotten in the culture of an institution that allows this to happen, and only comes to light due to whistle blowers.

Otago University announced:

The University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka has increased financial support for students in the coming year, with more scholarships and continued investment in relief funds.

The support provided in 2025 will include an investment of $45 million in scholarships, while close to $500,000 is committed to the Pūtea Tautoko financial aid fund and the Residential College Relief Fund.

More than 200 students have already been supported from these relief funds in 2024, with further student support being provided through OUSA’s hardship relief fund for immediate low-level assistance.

Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson is also contributing a portion of his salary each year to seven new scholarships, worth a total of $49,000.

These scholarships, worth $7,000 each, will be provided annually from 2025 as a supplement to first year students who have already been awarded an Otago equity scholarship, and whose circumstances are such that they would particularly benefit from additional support.

That is impressive – donating almost $50,000 of your own salary to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Combining this with Otago’s superb free speech policy, and I have to say I am enjoying Grant as VC much more than as Minister of Finance!

Reason reports:

It was dinnertime on October 30, 2024, when police handcuffed Brittany Patterson in front of three of her four children and drove her to the station in Fannin County, Georgia. She was then fingerprinted, photographed, and dressed in an orange jumpsuit.

Her crime?

Hours earlier, around noon, Patterson had driven her eldest son to a medical appointment. Her youngest son, 11-year-old Soren, intended to come along but wasn’t around when it was time to leave.

“I figured he was in the woods, or at grandma’s house,” says Patterson, who lives on 16 acres with her kids and her father. (Her husband works out of state). There is no shortage of family in the vicinity. Patterson’s mother and sisters live just two minutes away.

Soren, however, was not playing in the woods. He had decided to walk to downtown Mineral Bluff, a town of just 370 people. It’s not quite a mile from his house.

And for that she was arrested!

At the age of ten I was walking around the neighbourhood as a kid.

On Great Barrier Island, you often see kids walking all over the island – sometimes miles from their homes.

A few weeks ago my seven year old asked me to pull the car over and drop him off so he could walk home (around 500 metres). I was slightly nervous about this, but agreed. It’s my job to work out acceptable risk and balance that against fostering independence. I’m working on him taking public transport by himself when he is eight.

The role of the state is to intervene only when it is clearly neglect, not to second guess parenting choices.

Chris Lynch reports:

Senior members of New Zealand’s legal community have voiced “grave concerns” over the coalition government’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill, urging Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Attorney General Judith Collins to abandon the legislation.

In a formal letter addressed to the Prime Minister and Attorney General, 44 King’s Counsel outlined serious issues with the Bill, which aims to outline the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

This is not at all surprising.

Advocacy and litigation over the meaning on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and how they apply has been a huge cash cow for lawyers. I’d say well into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Having Parliament legislate explicitly what the principles are would be a disaster for the legal profression.

Jayden Kahi did the following:

• Abandoned his 7-year old son at a park to teach him a lesson
• Later went back to the park and found a man holding his son’s hand. Rather than thank him for comforting his abandoned son or asking what was happening, he abused and shoved the man
• He took his son to his ex-partner’s house, and despite her pleases, decided to track down the man, having concluded he was abducting his son. He did not call the Police, as most would do if genuinely concerned
• He found the man and punched him in the jaw, causing him to fall onto the payment, hitting his head with force
• Rather than help the man, or call for an ambulance, he left.
• The man died

The original trial judge sentenced him to two year’s imprisonment. Now you and I might think that was a bit lenient for an unprovoked attack, not in the heat of the moment, on an innocent man whose only crime was to try and look after the 7-year old Kahi had abandoned.

But alas, rather than being too lenient, the Court of Appeal has found it was too harsh, and reduced the sentence to 11 months’ home detention.

Nicola Willis has appointed nine people to the Social Investment Board that will advise on the Social Investment approach and the work of the Social Investment Agency. Social investment has the potential to make a huge difference to vulnerable families by identifying the factors that put them at most risk of “failure” and funding programmes based on actual outcomes in improving things.

The nine appointed have a great range of backgrounds in economics and social services. They also include two former Maori Party persons and a former Labour Party President.

The appointees are:

1. Dr Graham Scott. Former Chair of the Central Regional Health Authority, the national Health Funding Authority and a former Secretary to the Treasury
2. Laura Black. CEO of Methodist Mission Southern
3. Hon Te Ururoa Flavell former Minister for Māori Development, Minister for Whānau Ora. Chair of Te Arawa Whānau Ora. Former Chief Executive of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
4. Helen Leahy previously led the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency for the South Island. Chief Executive of Ngā Waihua o Paerangi (Ngāti Rangi)
5. Katie Murray. Chief Executive of, the Waitomo Papakainga Development Incorporated society, a social service agency in Kaitāia
6. Julie Nelson. Joint Chief Executive of the Wise Group for over 30 years, made up of entities that provide varied services and resources across Aotearoa including mental health and addiction services
7. Debbie Sorensen. Chief Executive of the Pasifika Medical Association Group since 2008.
8. Mike Williams was CEO of the New Zealand Howard League from 2010 to 2022
9. David Woods is deputy chairman of New Zealand Green Investment Finance.

Everyone, regardless of politics, should hope they do a good job.

Two good bills drawn from the Ballot – one ACT and one Greens.

The ACT one is the Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill.

Basically it allows an employer and employee to negotiate without prejudice a settlement to terminate employment. The current law is an ass, because it it actually prevents employers from saying “Look it isn’t working, is there a way we can resolve things”. So what happens is the employer has to spend three to six months working through a process that inevitably then leads to lawyers getting involved, and the lawyers then negotiating the exact same settlement as could have been done months earlier without the legal fees. I’ve been through this as an employer (not Curia). Both employer and employee end up worse off, as so much money goes on legal fees. Many employees would welcome an employer being able to say “Look I don’t think things are working out. Would you be open to resigning in return for six months salary”.

The other is from the Greens and is the Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill. Gareth Hughes initially submitted a bill like this in 2011. It surprises many that our law doesn’t explicitly allow parody or satire to be a permitted “fair use” like in the US. I used to be involved very much with copyright law due to its intersection with the Internet, and am a big supporter of this law change.

The bill says:

The purpose of this Bill is to introduce into New Zealand copyright law the authority to use a copyright work for the purpose of parody or satire, which brings New Zealand’s law in line with the laws of other developed countries, including Australia, the United States, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany. The amendment will also bring New Zealand into the 21st century with its attitude towards copyright and freedom of speech. It introduces an amendment to the Copyright Act 1994, to clearly permit the use of copyright work for parody or satire. The amendment follows the Australian Copyright Act 1968, section 41A.

This amendment allows for a much wider interpretation of current copyright law in favour of the public wishing to use copyright works through parody or satire to promote an issue freely under our understanding of freedom of speech.

The current law has been used to try and stop parodies by claiming they breach copyright. I hope Parliament votes 122-0 for the bill at first reading.

I blogged a few days ago about The Pākehā Project, which charges $15,000 to teach people about the harm that has been caused by whiteness in the world.”

I wondered how many government agencies are clients.

Well the Taxpayers’ Union had already found out. The Post reported:

Almost $300,000 has been spent by ministries on workshops “questioning the algorithms of whiteness” – including one course that had two participants and cost $21,700. …

Statistics NZ spent the most – $166,715 (including GST) over three years for 217 staff to attend and travel to workshops and training run by The Pākehā Project. A Tangata Tiriti Workshop was held this year for 60 staff.

Taxpayer funded brainwashing.

The Ministry of Justice contracted two courses over the 2023/2024 financial year – Tiriti Workshops and Coaching and Leadership Coaching tools – at a combined cost of $102,493 for a total of 48 staff.

And MBIE spent $21,700 on one Pākehā Project course for two staff members and paid $3811 to Unity House for leadership training. The course has not been offered since 2022.

And Labour tell us that you can’t trim public spending without impacting public services. Ha.

The Herald reports:

Figures obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act showed Tātaki spent a total of $737,208.58 to address what it said was a decline in perceptions of Auckland among locals and the rest of the country.

Would abolishing Tataki improve perceptions?

The agency said the campaign was designed to turn sentiment towards Auckland around.

“Globally, city brand experts point to negative-trending sentiment leading to people spending less time and money in a place, thereby unfavourably impacting economic outcomes.

Hmmm so city brand experts have said that they think spending more money on city brand experts is good for regional economies. How surprising.

Post-campaign research by the Research Agency showed the campaign lifted sentiment towards the city, it said, and 60% “took action such as considering spending money to enjoy Auckland and/or considering a trip to Auckland”.

That is not an action. ticking a box on a survey saying you are considering something is not an action. Did they ask about actual actions such as actual travel, or just thoughts?

“Campaign likeability and uniqueness both outperformed a benchmark group of 146 ads from established brands.”

Translation: these ads did better than our other ads. Wow wee.

ACT New Zealand has seen significant growth over the past four years and is now punching above its weight as part of the coalition government. ACT is delivering real change by cutting back on wasteful spending, delivering public services more efficiently, and championing equal rights for all New Zealanders with our Treaty Principles Bill.

We are already achieving a lot in government, but if we elect even more ACT MPs at the next election, we could do even more. 

ACT has some exciting opportunities for people to join our Head Office Team and help spread the word to even more New Zealanders.  

• We are looking for three Field Officers with a can-do attitude and knack for problem solving to build and grow teams of volunteers and help deliver our campaigns on the ground. One post is based in Auckland, another in the Central & Lower North Island, and one in the South Island. 
• We are also seeking an enthusiastic Engagement Officer to lead projects to keep our Members, donors, supporters and candidates engaged with our work, and run conferences and other events. 
• And finally, we are on the hunt for a Communications Officer with political nous and creative flair to supercharge our email communications, lead advertising campaigns, and produce social media and printed content.  

If one of these roles sounds up your street, we’d love to hear from you. Please apply using the links above. 

Or if you know someone who would be the perfect fit for one of these roles, please share the adverts with them.

This is an exciting time for ACT New Zealand – and you could play a vital role in delivering real change for New Zealand!

The FSU reports:

This morning in Wellington, Police withdrew charges against Paul Burns, a man charged under Section 3 of the Summary Offenses Act for public disorder after engaging in public debate. This is a necessary victory for free speech after an outrageous arrest and charge. We have been proud to manage this case, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union.

“In March earlier this year, Burns spent his Sunday how he regularly did, encouraging public debate on his anti-abortion stance.

“Burns stood on Lampton Quay holding a sign that said, ‘$100 to the 1st person who proves that slavery is more evil than abortion’ with $100 worth of notes taped to the sign. 

“When approached by a group of young people willing to engage in the debate, one of them said abortion was justified due to overpopulation.

“Using a typical debating tactic, Burns turned the young person’s logic around and said, “if you think that the world is overpopulated, then why don’t you kill yourself?”. Burns was arrested, taken to Police cells, and charged under section 1(4)(b) of the Summary Offences Act for ‘offensive language’.

“Ahead of his trial, Police outrageously upgraded his charges to disorderly behaviour likely to cause other people to behave violently. This is a disgraceful response to someone engaging in debate.

The original arrest was bad enough. But for the Police to then increase the charge to one with a potential jail sentence is worse. You suspect they did it to encourage a plea deal, but because Burns had the FSU behind him he refused.

The FSU has also convinced the Police to stop focusing on hate speech which is not a criminal offence, and instead to focus on actual criminal offending. The Police have now said:

“The Police Executive has agreed Police’s definition of a non-criminal hate incident should shift from a perception-based standard to one requiring reasonable grounds to believe an event involves or implies a significant risk of physical harm…”

It never should have been a perception-based standard, but it was. thanks to the FSU, sanity has won.

I find it distressing that so many on the left see the FSU as an enemy. It is in fact the most effective civil rights organisation in New Zealand, something the left used to be passionate about.

In September I looked at the proportion of Marsden Fund grants that go towards actual science over time. The summary was:

We now have 2024 grants, and the big winner is of course anything to do with Maori.

Some examples include:

• We all aspire for a future that is fair, just and sustainable. And in Aotearoa, this future should be based on the foundational document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. But how do we transition to a decolonised nation that respects and upholds collective Indigenous rights?
• This study will be the first to systematically study how mōteatea (traditional chants or laments) can be used as either alternative modes of therapy, or to compliment existing clinical approaches. This is a move toward centring the promotion of wellbeing as opposed to the treatment of illness.
• This study will use wānanga, workshops, and interviews to reveal the importance traditional clothing making has in transmitting knowledge, preserving traditions, and fostering connection.
• This research will develop a new model of Aotearoa New Zealand’s economy, challenging assumptions around safe depletion. It will do this by combining concepts from Te Ao Māori and contemporary economic methods.
• This research project will investigate current and historical relationships between Māori people and government tax, with the aim of proposing new, Te Tiriti-affirming tax systems.

I can only imagine what a Te Tiriti-affirming tax system looks like! And thanks to taxpayers we will find out.

On my Patreon, I reveal exclusive polling data on what Labour and Green voters think of Willie Jackson.

Prominent leftwing commentator Matt Yglesias posted a nine point vision for how the Democrats can return to “common sense”. They resonate with many and are below.

None of these are radical. I thought it would be interesting to assess NZ Labour and Greens against the nine points.

1. Labour does believe in economic growth, while Greens basically do not
2. Labour probably do see climate change as a reality to manage, while Greens more see it as a hard limit
3. Labour and Greens both fail on this one, prioritising prisoners over victims
4. Big fail for both on (4) as both obsesses with seeing everything through a racial lens
5. Both a fail also.
6. Big fail.
7. Labour gets half marks here. Hipkins is not down this rabbit hole, but some of his MPs are. Greens are fully down
8. Not so relevant here, but I think Labour is okay on this one.
9. Big fail here as Labour have created an industry that is all about providers, and not about outcomes