UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne says the Government has ”got it wrong” on the refugee issue. He says there is a strong case, which he supports, for lifting New Zealand’s annual refugee quota to at least 1,000 persons, and that consideration should be given to an emergency response to the mounting refugee numbers in Europe. “New…
The country quota – which operated in New Zealand from 1881 to 1945 – seems set to return, at least as far as the people of Canterbury are concerned. Under the country quota, rural seats in Parliament were about one-third smaller in population than urban seats, to preserve the power of rural (conservative) voters. Of…
Sometimes Parliament’s attention is distracted for the most trivial of reasons to deal with issues that it should never have needed to deal with, but for which there is no other option. Confused? Well, the sort of thing I am thinking about in the main is where Parliament has to step in and tidy up…
“WE BELIEVE THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH FUTURE GENERATIONS OF NEW ZEALANDERS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THRIVE, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE OR WHERE THEY COME FROM.” This “Why Statement” encapsulates why the UnitedFuture party exists and how we’re different from other parties. It is the lens through…
The British Labour Party is currently whipping itself into a frenzy at the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn becoming its next leader. The veteran, hard-line left wing Islington North MP is a less polished modern version of Michael Foot, the scruffy academic journalist and politician remembered for his big glasses, wild white hair, and appalling jackets,…
The news that NZTA staff had racked up 8,500 speeding infringements over a nine month period was bad enough, but the subsequent comment from the chief executive that probably no more than 50 staff were involved turned bad enough into sheer farce. On the basis of his admission, that is around 170 offences per individual,…
Much of the debate around the events at Auckland Remand Prison have centred on the fact it is run by the international giant, Serco. There has been the attendant implication that had the prison being state-run none of this would have occurred and all would have been sweetness and light. And some have tried to…
Labour’s crass playing of the race card over property sales in Auckland will have shocked many decent, middle of the road voters. Sadly, it will have also emboldened many of our closet racists to believe their latent prejudice has been given new credibility. At one level, it will have inflamed a little further public debate…
The right to be a citizen is one of the most fundamental rights we possess. Be it something we acquired because of our birth in this country, or because it was subsequently awarded to us, or whether it be the citizenship of another country, it is an inalienable characteristic of who we are. Throughout history…
The 2015 Budget has been presented, and while Parliament settles down for the next day or so to debate some of the consequential legislation, the public will begin to pick over the entrails to determine their assessment of it. Essentially, it will boil down to one thing – do they feel personally better or worse…