It is pretty funny to watch Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, the ousted Te Pāti Māori MP, trot off to the courts to challenge her expulsion from the party.
Justice by tikanga? Not for Kapa-Kingi, she prefers the colonial courts
Justice by tikanga? Not for Kapa-Kingi, she prefers the colonial courts
17 Nov 2025 1 Comment
The Last Gasp of the Climate Thought Police
17 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: climate alarmism, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Climate cancelling had a good run — but my Cornell lecture showed its finally over
The Last Gasp of the Climate Thought Police
Trump Announces Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC
16 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: free speech, media bias, regressive left
President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he plans to file a defamation lawsuit against the BBC for up to…
Trump Announces Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC
Aussie Mainstream Opposition Formally Abandons Net Zero
15 Nov 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of natural disasters, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia
But still wants to stay in the Paris Agreement?
Aussie Mainstream Opposition Formally Abandons Net Zero
Best take yet on Mātauranga Māori and Science
14 Nov 2025 1 Comment
in economics of education, politics - New Zealand Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
A great article by Zoran Rakovic. He starts by defining science: “Science must begin with myths,” Karl Popper wrote, “and with the criticism of myths.” The operative word is criticism. Science doesn’t function on reverence; it thrives on tension, on the perpetual risk of being wrong. That’s what makes it public. I don’t need a PhD […]
Best take yet on Mātauranga Māori and Science
The stupidity of Labour on assets
13 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, politics - USA, privatisation Tags: Singapore
The Herald reports: Opposition leader Chris Hipkins is dismissive of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying the country needs a “mature” conversation around the potential sale of state-owned assets. “What would this government do when they’ve run out of things to sell?” Hipkins said, after Luxon spoke positively of a new Treasury report that calls for […]
The stupidity of Labour on assets
Don Brash’s Oxford Union speech
11 Nov 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, development economics, economic history, history of economic thought, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: economics of colonialism
The House believes that the Sun should never have set on the British Empire Don Brash says – Mr/Madame President, I speak in opposition to the motion. But I also want to acknowledge at the outset that the British Empire did more good things for more people than any other empire in human history.
Don Brash’s Oxford Union speech
Some Links
09 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA
TweetPhil Magness and Mike Ferguson discuss the recent oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court case against Trump’s use of IEEPA to impose tariffs. National Review‘s Dan McLaughlin dives deeply into what’s now on the U.S. Supreme Court’s plate regarding Trump’s IEEPA tariffs. Two slices: There are, however, two related problems for the government with…
Some Links
Supreme Court Issues Major Opinion on Transgender Identity and the Trump Passport Policy
09 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
In a significant win for the Trump Administration, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion on Thursday afternoon on the Trump Administration’s requirement that passport holders use their sex assigned at birth and that such requirements do not violate equal protection guarantees. While a brief, unsigned opinion issued on the interim docket, it represents […]
Supreme Court Issues Major Opinion on Transgender Identity and the Trump Passport Policy
Can you waka jump when you have overhang?
08 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
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?
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
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