It seems clear that the Tamihere faction wants to expel Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Takuta Ferris from Te Pati Maori, and possibly to also waka jump them from Parliament, causing by-elections. At first glance they should be able to do this, as you only needs a two thirds majority in caucus to expect MPs under the […]
Can you waka jump when you have overhang?
Can you waka jump when you have overhang?
08 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
How advanced was Māori civilisation?
07 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, politics - New Zealand Tags: anthropology
David Farrar writes – Something I have been interested in is trying to get a better understanding of what life was like for Maori in New Zealand before Abel Tasman made contact in 1642. By then Maori had been in New Zealand for around 400 years. Some people dismiss Maori civilisation back then as Stone […]
How advanced was Māori civilisation?
Be careful what you wish for – new cost-benefit analysis paves paradise
07 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, politics - New Zealand, transport economics, urban economics
Eric Crampton writes – Sometimes, policy work is like wishing on a cursed wish-granting monkey’s paw. Like the one in the old Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode, later parodied in The Simpsons. Wish on the paw, one of the paw’s extended fingers will curl, and your wish will come true. But not in the way you’d wanted. […]
Be careful what you wish for – new cost-benefit analysis paves paradise
Economists on the Trump Tariffs Supreme Court Case
07 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, income redistribution, international economic law, international economics, International law, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: free trade, tarrifs
It seems as if a few times every week, I see a headline about President Trump announcing a new tariff or repealing a tariff, sometimes involve many countries and sometime just a few. However, it is not at all clear that any president has a right to alter tariffs. This question was raised before Trump…
Economists on the Trump Tariffs Supreme Court Case
Te Pāti Māori’s future: in the House, or on the streets?
05 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
Chris Trotter writes – Te Pāti Māori’s consistent failure to participate in the day-to-day business of Parliament is telling. Citizens availing themselves of the consultative machinery of Parliament, select committees in particular, report Te Pāti Māori no-shows with a regularity strongly suggestive of its non-participation being more of a feature than a bug. The argument that […]
Te Pāti Māori’s future: in the House, or on the streets?
The TPM putsch is on
04 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
David Farrar writes – Back on September 12 I blogged: Reliable sources tell me this is much bigger than I realised. There is a huge split in TPM, basically between the Tamihere aligned MPs and the rest. I have been told that some existing MPs are facing deselection, and that this is behind what we are […]
The TPM putsch is on
Bill Gates Returns to Energy Pragmatism
03 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: climate alarmism
Alex Epstein reports regarding Bill Gates latest statement downplaying climate doomsterism, and reminds us that he hasn’t changed his mind so much as he is now able to speak freely. For example, watch this short video of Bill Gates in 2019. Alex Epstein posted his conversation with Fox News Will Cain: Why Bill Gates is […]
Bill Gates Returns to Energy Pragmatism
David Seymour exposes the fraud of the anti-colonial crusade
02 Nov 2025 1 Comment
ACT Leader David Seymour hit the nail on the head with his latest post about the Kapa-Kingi’s and Te Pāti Māori.
David Seymour exposes the fraud of the anti-colonial crusade
Does the state need to own houses to help families?
01 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, industrial organisation, law and economics, managerial economics, market efficiency, organisational economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, urban economics Tags: state ownership, public housing
A good report from the NZ Initiative that looks at whether ownership of state houses is the best way to help low income NZ families with housing. Some key extracts: That $29,000 per unit estimated cost is not the cost of income related rents – they are the same regardless of whether the state or […]
Does the state need to own houses to help families?
Capital gains tax: how Hipkins has abandoned policy soundness for a symbolic gesture
01 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in fiscal policy, income redistribution, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and investment
Peter Dunne writes – In 1994 the then Labour Opposition resolved to introduce a new top tax rate of 39 cents in the dollar. The reason for the policy was purely political, not fiscal. Labour was shedding votes to Jim Anderton’s left-wing Alliance at the time and wanted to do something symbolic to staunch the flow. […]
Capital gains tax: how Hipkins has abandoned policy soundness for a symbolic gesture
The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials
31 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, law and order, racial discrimination
In a great paper, The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials, Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer and Randi Hjalmarsson exploit random variation in the jury pool to estimate the effect of race on criminal trials. The authors have data from nearly 800 trials in two Florida counties. On any given day, a jury pool is randomly […]
The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials
Guardian, Sky, ITV erase pro-Hamas views of British man facing US deportation
30 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, law and economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, media bias, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
The Guardian (“ICE detains British journalist after criticism of Israel on US tour“), Sky News (“Anger after British commentator held by ICE in US… The post Guardian, Sky, ITV erase pro-Hamas views of British man facing US deportation appeared first on CAMERA UK.
Guardian, Sky, ITV erase pro-Hamas views of British man facing US deportation
How the British establishment votes
29 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in politics Tags: British politics
An interesting poll at Electoral Calculus, where a 2,000 person poll of the British Establishment was done. They found: It would be interesting to do the same poll here. Very telling. Hating your country’s history! The post How the British establishment votes first appeared on Kiwiblog.
How the British establishment votes
Te Pāti Māori’s campaign truck repossessed
28 Oct 2025 1 Comment
Shiny on the outside, rotten at the core
Te Pāti Māori’s campaign truck repossessed
NZ may be on the cusp of another measles outbreak – what happened in 2019 should be a warning
28 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: anti-vaccination movement, vaccines
Anna Howe, Emma Best and Rachel Webb write – The recent confirmation of new measles cases unconnected to international travel suggests the highly contagious disease has likely started spreading through communities, according to Health New Zealand. This is a stark reminder of the pending danger of a larger measles outbreak. To prevent transmission once the measles virus […]
NZ may be on the cusp of another measles outbreak – what happened in 2019 should be a warning
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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