Al Jazeera reports:

Brunei is enacting Sharia law, a new penal code that imposes death by stoning for adultery and gay sex, and amputations for theft, despite widespread criticism.

But it doesn’t stop there.

The new law mostly applies to Muslims, though some aspects will also apply to non-Muslims. It stipulates the death penalty for a number of offences, including rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and insulting or defaming the Prophet Muhammad.

Death penalty for insulting the Prophet – remind me not to travel there.

It also introduces public flogging as punishment for abortion as well as amputation for theft

Flogging women who have an abortion. It’s like time travel to the 1300s.

and criminalises exposing Muslim children to the beliefs and practices of any religion other than Islam.

No freedom of religion.

Very few Islamic countries have penal codes as barbaric as this one. But countries like Brunei are why there is such antipathy towards elements of Islam, and more specifically Islamism (the political side).

Graeme Edgeler blogs:

My particular concern (and I cannot say there are not others) is the new offence of possessing or supplying a prohibited part.
Prohibited Parts 
The new definition of “prohibited part” relies on a new definition of “part”. That aspect of the old definition had an important requirement, that something only counts as a part of a firearm if it “while not essential … is designed or intended to be an integral part of” the firearm.
This formulation is included in new paragraph (b) of the definition of part, but is not part of the new definition in paragraph (d). Instead, paragraph (d), which applies “in relation to any firearm,” merely defines part as “any thing, such as [a disparate group of parts of firearms].”
This is not a good definition. I am not a firearms expert, but I cannot see how even those who are can possibly work out whether something counts as a part of a firearm, such that if it is a part of a prohibited firearm, they are breaking the law by possessing it.

And we are talking criminal law and penalties here if you get it wrong.

Amended section 74A: New “Henry VIII” power
I object to the new sections 74A(a) and (b), which would permit the Government to amend the Arms Act. If you are concerned that you will not get the definitions right in the time available, the appropriate course is not to surrender Parliament’s authority to amend laws to the Crown, but to be more careful, and if necessary, insist upon being allowed more time to do your job.
Even where so-called Henry VIII clauses are provided, they should never be able to be used in a way which expands the criminal law, and this is what the law would allow.
The Government does not need the power to amend primary legislation in this way. The sections that this amendment would allow the government to amend are important to a number of criminal offences in the Act. Deciding what conduct is criminal is prototypically a matter for Parliament. I urge the committee to remove the power the bill would create to allow the Government to amend the act itself.

A very important point that only Parliament should change a criminal law, not Cabinet.

Newsroom reports:

Paviour-Smith has been the board chair at Wadestown School for a decade, and has sat on the board for 12 years.
The board of the decile 10 school had successfully managed property, and fought to maintain the character of the school, which included single-cell classrooms – as opposed to modern learning environments.
According to him, the regional education hub model – as proposed by the Tomorrow’s Schools review taskforce – would be “complete disaster and complete overkill”.

Well summarized.

“The gap between the best and the worst is not going to be able to be fixed by a one-hat-fits-all approach.”
Getting the right resources and expertise to the schools that needed it would help fix the problem, he said, adding that further attention needed to be paid to improving teacher quality and teacher training.
“Our teachers are the ones that drive the outcomes … They need to be well-paid and valued, rather than looking at school governance.”
He was not convinced the proposed overhaul would benefit the 85 percent of schools and the majority of students, who were performing well.

It’s real lowest common denominator stuff,

Stuff reports:

The prime ministers of Greece and North Macedonia have broken the ice and engaged in selfie diplomacy during the first ever official visit by a Greek leader to the neighbouring country following decades of strained relations over a name dispute.
North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held up a cellphone while standing beside Greek counterpart Alexis Tspiras, snapping the historic selfies outside the main government building in the capital, Skopje.
The former Yugoslav republic officially changed its name earlier this year from Macedonia to North Macedonia, settling a dispute over its name with Greece that lasted nearly three decades.

An elegant solution to a problem which caused huge tensions.

Leaders and ministers from the two countries signed multiple friendship agreements to establish embassies in both capitals, ease trade barriers and for the Greek military to police North Macedonia’s airspace.
Tsipras travelled to Skopje with 10 Greek Cabinet ministers and more than 100 business representatives.
Speaking at a forum on economic cooperation between the two countries, Zaev said Greece was North Macedonia’s second-biggest trade partner in 2018 behind Germany.

Trade is better than conflict.

North Macedonia is due to become the next member of NATO after Greece dropped its objections.

Excellent. NATO started with just 12 countries in 1949. Before the cold war ended it stood at 16 with Turkey, Greece, Germany and Spain joining.

Since the USSR dissolved 13 more countries have joined and North Macedonia will be the 30th country to join.

Stuff reports:

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones raised NZ Transport Agency’s case against a Northland trucking company with the chief executive of the regulator.

If the Government had any standards he would be sacked as Associate Transport Minister. You do not talk to your agencies on such matters. This is effectively trying to influence a prosecution.

Jones has confirmed he is related to the company’s managing director, Stan Semenoff, and that he accepted a $2000 donation from the former Whangarei mayor in 2008.

This makes it even worse, but is also a distraction from the main point. No matter what his relationship is to Semenoff, he should not be lobbying the agency he is Associate Minister of, on their behalf.

Stan Semenoff Logging was ordered to stop work from March 22, however the company, which has clocked up 116 speed and traffic-related offences in the last four years, successfully applied to the High Court to be given the right to stay on the road for now. 

116 offences in four years is huge.

The Herald reports:

The Australian Senator who Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters this morning described as a “moron” has hit back at comments made by the NZ First Leader this morning.
Although he called the remarks “defamatory” Senator Fraser Anning told The Herald he supported Peters “positions on Muslims”.
“I would like highlight a number of comments Mr Peters has made which I fully endorse,” Anning said.

The Senator, whose comments about Muslims and immigration after the March 15 Christchurch shooting were described by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as “a disgrace”, referenced a speech Peters made in 2005.

“In New Zealand, the Muslim community have been quick to show us their more moderate face, but as some media reports have shown, there is a militant underbelly here as well,” Peters said at the time.
Anning said those were comments he “fully endorsed”.
In the same speech, Peters said these two groups – the moderate and militant – “fit hand and glove everywhere they exist”.

I have to say that in a battle between Anning and Peters, I don’t care who wins. Maybe we could send them off to some reality TV show island to duke it out.

The Herald reports:

NZ First’s Shane Jones has stepped into the middle of legal action between the NZ Transport Agency and Northland’s biggest logging transport operator, even though he holds the portfolio of Associate Transport Minister.
Jones said he was speaking as the Regional Economic Development Minister when he expressed concern to the Herald about a case between the NZ Transport Agency and Semenoff Logging.
“I’m concerned about the economic implications flowing from issues between NZTA and Semenoff Logging,” Jones said, following a High Court decision last Monday where the transporter won temporary suspension of a ban on its licence.
On March 15, NZTA revoked Semenoff’s transport services licence over a range of safety issues, due to take effect on March 22.

This is entirely inappropriate. No Minister should be commenting on independent prosecution or regulatory safety decisions. Even worse Jones is an Associate Transport Minister so his public statements can only be seen as public pressure on an agency he has some ministerial responsibility for.

“I’m concerned about the future of 1000 jobs in Northland which could be on the line due to the High Court case. The High Court case doesn’t prohibit the first citizen of the provinces from advocating on behalf of economic development.

You’re not the effing first citizen of anything. You’re the Associate Minister of Transport attacking a decision by NZTA made on safety grounds.

The argument about being concerned about jobs is the exact one Justin Trudeau made when he tried to pressure the Canadian attorney-General not to prosecute a company that was a major employer in Trudeau’s home province.

Meredith Connell managing partner Steve Haszard, who has been overseeing NZTA’s regulatory compliance, said the entity has been strongly encouraging Stan Semenoff Logging since 2016 to get the company to lift its safety standards.
“The Transport Agency has given Stan Semenoff Logging every opportunity to provide evidence of improvement, but over the course of two audits and three years we have seen that this company is either unwilling or unable to comply with the necessary transport operator safety standards,” Haszard said.
“The revocation is a safety decision, plain and simple. It’s not just about the safety of Mr Semenoff’s drivers, it’s about the safety of all Northland’s other road users,” he said.
“As with every revocation we enforce, we know this will have an impact on those people employed by the company, and that is why we have made every effort to extensively engage with Mr Semenoff to avoid getting to this point.”
In August 2018, the agency served a notice of proposal to Stan Semenoff in a final effort to get him to provide evidence he was now complying with the required safety standards, he said.
“It was ultimately up to Stan Semenoff Logging to avoid this situation by demonstrating safety improvement. We were given many assurances from his company that standards would be lifted, but in the end, they weren’t,” Haszard says.

The Government says it wants safer roads yet their Associate Transport Minister is attacking a regulatory decision to do just that.

If all Jones has done is mouth off to the media, then the PM can get away with (another) public reprimand and instruction not to do it again.

However if Jones has had discussions with any officials or contractors of NZTA regarding the decision, then he must be sacked. If he has privately tried to pressure NZTA with regards to an independent safety regulatory decision, just because it involves a major employer in a seat he wants to win – he must go.

You can submit on the proposed changes to the gun laws up until and including Thursday 4 April.

They look reasonable and proportionate to me, but I am no expert on this area. With such limited time for scrutiny it is important that people who are knowledgeable and/or are affected have their say.

The Herald reports:

Half the boats challenging for the America’s Cup will not make it to the start line in Auckland in 2021, according to a report.
Newshub have reported that all three teams that filed late entries have failed to get enough money together to stage a challenge.
“It is not surprising that some of the challenges aren’t going to make it to the start line,” America’s Cup veteran skipper Chris Dickson told Newshub.
“It’s an expensive game, the America’s Cup.”

It leaves Emirates Team New Zealand facing the prospect of losing millions of dollars.
Newshub reported that Malta’s entry is “dead in the water”, DutchSail is resorting to crowdfunding and California’s Stars and Stripes is currently drafting a media release announcing its withdrawal.
That would leave Luna Rosa, the challenger of record, INEOS Team UK, backed by Sir Ben Ainslie, and American Magic, from the New York Yacht Club.

Just three challengers. That must reduce greatly the claimed economic benefits of hosting. They’re saying the challengers haven’t officially withdrawn yet but neither have they paid the entry fee that was due.

Stuff reports:

ACT leader David Seymour was planning to oppose the speed of the new gun laws set to pass their first reading on Tuesday – but missed the motion as he was talking to media instead.

Oh dear. That is very embarrassing.

Stats NZ has released the nine measures of child poverty that the Government will use to measure progress. This post will look at the nine measures and what has happened to them under nine years of National and the first year of Labour.

1. Percentage of children in households with income under 50% of median, before housing costs. 156,000 in June 2008 and 156,000 in June 2017 so no increase under National (rate dropped 0.3%). In June 2018 increased by 27,000 and rate increased 2.3% for Labour’s first year.
2. Percentage of children in households with income under 50% of median, after housing costs. 329,000 in June 2009 (no data for 2008) and 247,000 in June 2017 so a drop of 82,000 under National (rate dropped 8.1%). In June 2018 increased by 7,000 and rate increased 0.4% for Labour’s first year.
3. Percentage of children in households in material hardship. 196,000 in June 2013 (no data before that) and 140,000 in June 2017 so dropped 56,000 under National (rate dropped 5.4%). In June 2018 increased by 8,000 and rate increased 0.6% for Labour’s first year.
4. Percentage of children in households with income under 60% of median, before housing costs. 252,000 in June 2008 and 243,000 in June 2017 so a drop of 9,000 under National (rate dropped 1.3%). In June 2018 increased by 38,000 and rate increased 3.2% for Labour’s first year.
5. Percentage of children in households with income under 60% of median, after housing costs. 355,000 in June 2008 and 314,000 in June 2017 so a drop of 41,000 under National (rate dropped 4.6%). In June 2018 increased by 27,000 and rate increased 2.2% for Labour’s first year.
6. Percentage of children in households with income under 50% housing costs for the base financial year. 258,000 in June 2008 and 236,000 in June 2017 so a drop of 22,000 under National (rate dropped 2.5%). In June 2018 increased by 18,000 and rate increased 1.4% for Labour’s first year.
7. Percentage of children in households with income under 40% housing costs for the base financial year. 156,000 in June 2008 and 178,000 in June 2017 so a increase of 22,000 under National (rate increased 1.6%). In June 2018 dropped by 4,000 and rate dropped 0.4% for Labour’s first year.
8. Percentage of children in households in severe material hardship. 84,000 in June 2013 (no data before that) and 74,000 in June 2017 so dropped 10,000 under National (rate dropped 1.0%). In June 2018 dropped by 9,000 and rate dropped 0.9% for Labour’s first year.
9. Percentage of children in households in material hardship and under 60% median income after housing costs. 96,000 in June 2013 (no data before that) and 86,000 in June 2017 so dropped 10,000 under National (rate dropped 1.1%). In June 2018 increased by 12,000 and rate increased 1.0% for Labour’s first year.
   

So let’s be very clear about this.

Child poverty under National dropped on seven of the nine measures, stayed static for one, and increased for one.

Child poverty in Labour’s first year increased on seven of the nine measures and dropped on only two of them.

Will the media report this with the same vigour as they did hundreds of stories claiming child poverty increased under National?

NB: Note the data is over a full year, not as at 30 June so the latest year includes three months of National and nine months of current Government.

Stuff reports:

“It is one of our most important and far-reaching relationships,” said Ardern. She said the New Zealand Labour Party, in particular, was “really proud of its record of engagement”, with China.
“We are particularly invested in the comprehensive strategic partnership, agreed during President Xi’s visit to New Zealand in 2014, and we are committed to advancing our ties,” Ardern said.

The PM is there as PM of New Zealand, not as the Leader of the Labour Party.

And note who was in Government in 2014 when the comprehensive strategic partnership was agreed?

“The New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement has significantly benefited both countries. China is now our largest trading partner and two-way trade recently exceeded $30 billion dollars for the first time, a significant milestone in the trading relationship.

And all credit to Clark and Goff for their finest foreign policy achievement – one that Winston Peters of course campaigned against despite being Foreign Minister at the time.

The Herald reports:

National Leader Simon Bridges is backing the Government’s plans to review New Zealand’s hate speech law but is warning against limiting free speech in the process.
Over the weekend, Justice Minister Andrew Little said he would fast-track a review of the Human Rights Act, which could see a crackdown on hate speech.
He said the current hate speech laws were not strong enough and needed to change.
Bridges said he agreed with Little having a look at the law and told RNZ: “I think he is doing the right thing having a review”.

But he warned against fast-tracking legislation that would change the law.
Bridges said that this type of legislation was “so fundamental to society that it can’t be rushed or fast-tracked”.
“Freedom of speech is so incredibly important to us as a society.”

Massey University regards Don Brash advocating against Maori seats as hate speech. If the law was changed, Brash would no doubt end up with multiple complaints laid against him with the Police, because people disagree with his advocacy.

Act Party Leader David Seymour is also advising caution on any changes to rules that might impact free speech.
“When the Government makes it its role to start working out which opinions are right and which are wrong and which ones should be punished, that’s when you get into real difficulty,” he told RNZ.
He said a new hate crime law would exacerbate divisions and fail to stamp out prejudice in New Zealand.

Does anyone think the UK is a less divided country, despite having had hate speech laws for a couple of decades?

The Taxpayers’ Union has announced:

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union today formally launches a major campaign to fight the unfair capital gains tax, proposed by Dr Michael Cullen’s Tax Working Group.
 
The Union is encouraging New Zealanders to go to axethistax.nz and use the email tool to tell Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters how the tax will hit their family.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says “The capital gains tax proposed by Dr Cullen and the Tax Working Group would be the least fair and most punitive in the world, and would apply to small businesses, farms, shares, and property. We are calling on the Government to Axe this Tax by rejecting the Working Group’s recommendations outright.”

“Our role in this campaign is to make it easier for taxpayers to navigate the Wellington bureaucracy to ensure politicians hear from those who will be personally affected by the tax. That’s why as a first step of the campaign we’re providing taxpayers with a tool to tell Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters to reject the capital gains tax.”
 
“This is also a public education campaign to increase awareness of the scope of the proposed tax. With the support of our thousands of donors, we have full page newspaper adverts running across the country and a major digital campaign launching today.”

If you don’t want Dr Cullen’s Capital Gains Tax, then go to axethistax.nz.

Stuff reports:

The Treasury says it has stopped publishing a regular report on the status of major public sector investments, despite acknowledging that might be viewed as a step back for transparency.
The “major project reports” were introduced in 2015 under the last National government to provide a quick view of whether major government investments, such as large information technology projects, were tracking to plan.
Projects were “colour-coded” from green to red to provide readers an easy means of assessing projects that were in trouble and they usually provided a short but candid assessment of their cost, benefits, progress and challenges.

They were really good. I would always read them. Really useful to see which major projects had the biggest risks around them.

But the Treasury has only now confirmed that what appeared to be a “hiatus” in their publication was in fact permanent.

That is a real shame.

The Herald reports:

Gareth Morgan has quit The Opportunities Party (TOP) after a dispute over how to spend a $50,000 donation that the party has given back to him.
But Morgan says the main reason he is leaving is not the dispute, but simply because it is time to pour energy into other projects.
Morgan has donated about $2 million to TOP to contest the 2017 election, and said he had put in about twice that amount overall, including what it took to set up the party from scratch.

A total of $2.29 million donated.

Asked if the party had been a dictatorship, Simmons said: “Gareth was the sole funder, the leader, and chair of the board. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.”

Code for yes.

One former TOP candidate thought the old military quote “We’re here to preserve democracy not practice it” applied wonderfully to Gareth.

“In my view, the leadership cannot be kumbaya, ‘let’s hold hands’ – that’s Green Party-type stuff. For me, it’s got to be hard-ass, straight between the eyes, ‘this is the best policy and tell me why it’s not, otherwise adopt it’.
“Geoff is far more conciliatory. He’s a really nice guy. He and the others, well, they’re not going to be like me. They’ll adopt a different approach, and whether that works I have no idea, but it’s up to them.”

A leader does need to be able to get media attention. But that doesn’t mean all publicity is good publicity.

Stuff reports:

Little said he was fast-tracking a widespread review of New Zealand’s existing hate speech legislation.
This would include deciding if hate crime should be established as its own separate offence, as it is in the United Kingdom.

The UK is a great example of how well intentioned laws end up criminalising many different types of speech. Some examples:

• An evangelist, was convicted because he had displayed to people in Bournemoutha large sign bearing the words “Jesus Gives Peace, Jesus is Alive, Stop Immorality, Stop Homosexuality, Stop Lesbianism, Jesus is Lord”. 
• A man was arrested in Cardiff for distributing pamphlets which called sexual activity between members of the same sex a sin
• Harry Taylor sentenced to six months prison (suspended) because he left anti-religious cartoons in the prayer-room of Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport on three occasions and the Chaplain complained
• A 19-year-old woman was convicted of sending a “grossly offensive” message after she posted rap lyrics that included the N-word on her Instagram page
• Scottish YouTuber Mark Meechan of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire was fined £800 after being found “grossly offensive” for posting a YouTube video that was viewed over 3 million times depicting him training his girlfriend’s pug to respond to the phrase “Sieg Heil” by lifting his paw in a Nazi salute
• A student was arrested for saying to a mounted police officer “Excuse me do you know your horse is gay”
• A teenager was arrested for barking at two labradors, as the owner was non-white
• A teenager was prosecuted for holding up a placard that described the Church of Scientology as a cult
• A man was charged with racially aggravated criminal damage for writing “Don’t forget the 1945 war” on a UKIP poster
• An Essex baker Daryl Barke was ordered to take down a poster promoting English bread with the slogan “none of that French rubbish”, because the police believed it would stir up racial hatred
• An 11 year old boy was charged for calling a classmate a “Paki bastard” in a playground fight after being called a teletubby
• The North Wales Police Commissioner tried to prosecute a newspaper columnist for suggesting a Welsh bridge should be named something indecipherable with no real vowels, such as Ysgythysgymlngwchgwch Bryggy”.
• An Irish TV writer was visited by the Police because he used the pronoun “he” on Twitter to refer to a transgender woman.

These are just a few examples I’ve plagiarized from various columns and articles I could locate. There are no doubt many more.

We already have a law which states it is an offence to publish anything which is “likely to excite hostility or ill-will against, or bring into contempt or ridicule, any such group of persons in New Zealand on the ground of the colour, race, or ethnic or national origins of that group of persons”

Lowering the bar from exciting hostility will lead to court cases like the ones cited above. If the Government proceeds, it will be buying a huge battle.

Phil Twyford announced:

We announced on the 31st of January that we are recalibrating Kiwibuild and its targets.

The Coalition Government is now in a position to announce our new targets to demonstrate we are on track to deliver 100,000 homes over ten years for first home buyers.

The old and new targets are shown below:

• 1 July 2019 1,000 150
• 1 July 2020 6,000 750
• 1 July 2021 16,000 2,500
• 1 July 2022 28,000 5,000
• 1 July 2023 40,000 10,000
• 1 July 2024 52,000 20,000
• 1 July 2025 64,000 40,000
• 1 July 2026 76,000 60,000
• 1 July 2027 88,000 80,000
• 1 July 2028 100,000 100,000

This looks absolutely unrealistic. The Government is saying in their first term they’ll now manage only 2,500 houses (probably right) but in a second term they’ll build 15,000 (a stretch) and in a mythical third term they’ll magically build 60,000 houses.

Excellent.

Stuff reports:

A Hamilton City Councillor who wore an anti-vaccine t-shirt to an autism awareness event says she didn’t mean to cause offence.

That is pretty offensive. Basically she wore a t-shirt telling all the parents I think the reason your kids are autistic is because they were vaccinated.

But Siggi Henry, known for her strident anti-fluoride stance, is defending her anti-vaccination views, saying many parents are too accepting of medical advice.

Yeah, what has medical advice ever done for humanity, apart from increase life expectancy by 30 years or so.

A new Danish study has found that the MMR vaccination does not trigger or increase the risk of autism in children. The survey looked at more than half a million children born between 1999 and 2010 and is the single largest study on this topic to date.
Henry said she hadn’t heard of the study but later contacted Stuff to say she had read the study and that her views on the MMR vaccine hadn’t changed.
Henry uses a variety of Facebook groups to keep her informed on vaccines.

Need more be said.