The Right Needs to Reject He Puapua Outright, To Preserve Democracy
With the election in three months, it is timely to be reminded of how this election will be fundamentally important to preserving democracy in New Zealand and the repudiation of…
The Wellington City Council Draft Speed Reduction Plan
I have based this article on my submission to WCC on the Draft Speed Reduction plan. This may not be of much interest to a wider audience, but the essence…
Why I Did Not Want to Return to New Zealand
For the first time in over 45 years of traveling overseas, I did not want to return home. New Zealand is slowly slipping into a divisive situation. Ministers of the…
The Differing Views on Co-Governance
And what they really mean When Chris Hipkins became Prime Minister in January 2023, he announced a bonfire on proposed controversial government policies to focus on bread-and-butter issues and he…
Critical Race Theory in the Education System – It’s coming to New Zealand too.
At a recent Christmas function, I spoke with someone about education. He informed me of an education conference that claimed that Māori failure at schools was due to middle-aged white…
The Battle of the two Chris’
What you need to know Since Chris Hipkins succeeded Jacinda Ardern as the prime minister, a lot has been written about him, much in glowing terms. Yet, there has been…
What did Jacinda Ardern and Labour give us in 2022, (or more importantly, take away from us in 2022)
And what does this mean for democracy in the 2023 elections? Like a bolt out of the blue, Jacinda Ardern dropped a bomb shell by resigning as Prime Minister (all…
The Government’s ‘Future of Local Government Review Panel’ – why this is a problem
The “Future of Local Government Review Panel” is a worrying report for both democracy and governance. The report is designed to remove the current structures of governance and democracy, and…
Three Waters is Now, Five Waters.
It is not about water anymore; it is all about co-governance (code for control) and theft by stealth I have written on Three Waters for over a year, and I…
The Playcentre Outcome and Co-Governance – what it means for democracy
The recent local council elections have highlighted many issues. Much of the swing to the right in these elections was caused by opposition to Three Waters and Labour’s centrist policies.…