Roger Partridge writes – Revolutions conjure images of violent uprisings, the storming of institutions, and the forcible overthrow of existing orders. But constitutional foundations can be destroyed through more subtle means. When judges discard long-established constitutional principles and remake the law according to their preferences, they engage in a revolution that may be no less […]
Revolution by Judicial Decree: A Review of Professor Peter Watts KC’s “Ellis v R, A Revolution in Aotearoa New Zealand, Welcome or Not”
Revolution by Judicial Decree: A Review of Professor Peter Watts KC’s “Ellis v R, A Revolution in Aotearoa New Zealand, Welcome or Not”
24 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
PETER WILLIAMS (on behalf of the Taxpayers’ Union): The Nats are considering keeping Te Mana o te Wai
21 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, resource economics Tags: constitutional law
Peter Williams writes – The Taxpayers’ Union has been alerting supporters about the “Te Mana o te Wai” (literally meaning the mana of the water) requirements, which are still applicable to local councils’ environmental planning/consenting. It is becoming clear that the Coalition Government is continuing down Labour’s path of undemocratic and costly co-governance due to pressure […]
PETER WILLIAMS (on behalf of the Taxpayers’ Union): The Nats are considering keeping Te Mana o te Wai
“I have a Wonderful Opportunity”: Justice Jackson’s Cathartic Jurisprudence
13 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA Tags: constitutional law
I wrote recently about the chilling jurisprudence of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has drawn the ire of colleagues in opinions for her rhetoric and extreme positions. Many have expressed alarm over her adherence to what has been described by a colleague as an “imperial judiciary” model of jurisprudence. Now, it appears that Jackson’s increasingly […]
“I have a Wonderful Opportunity”: Justice Jackson’s Cathartic Jurisprudence
Echoes of Citizens for Rowling
07 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics Tags: constitutional law
Karl du Fresne writes – Who remembers the Citizens for Rowling campaign? It was a concerted attempt by the Great and the Good to derail National Party leader Robert Muldoon’s election campaign in 1975. The campaign’s backers didn’t like Muldoon’s combative, divisive brand of politics and argued that Labour’s gentlemanly Bill Rowling, who had assumed […]
Echoes of Citizens for Rowling
The Chilling Jurisprudence of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
28 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA Tags: constitutional law
Below is my column in the New York Post on the controversial dissenting opinion of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in the injunction ruling in Trump v. CASA on Friday. The opinion seemed to fan the flames of “democracy is dying” claims of protesters, suggesting that basic limits on injunctive relief could result in the collapse […]
The Chilling Jurisprudence of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
The Claude Rains School of Constitutional Law: Democrats Denounce Iranian Attack as Unconstitutional
23 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: constitutional law, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Yesterday, I wrote a column in the Hill discussing how Trump is unlikely to go to Congress in launching an attack on Iran and how he has history on his side in acting unilaterally. The column noted that many Democratic politicians and pundits who were supportive of such unilateral actions by Democratic presidents such as […]
The Claude Rains School of Constitutional Law: Democrats Denounce Iranian Attack as Unconstitutional
A clear line
19 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
The Herald reports: Ngāti Hine leader Pita Tipene is ruling out a settlement under this Government after remarks made by Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. Goldsmith said on Tuesday the Government would not agree to Treaty settlements that disputed whether the Crown is now sovereign. Under the previous Labour Government, an initial deed of settlement […]
A clear line
Sovereignty line in sand
18 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
The government has drawn a line in the sand on sovereignty: Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says the Government will not agree to Treaty settlements that dispute whether the Crown is now sovereign. Goldsmith made the comments to the Māori Affairs select committee this morning amid ongoing negotiations with East Coast iwi Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and […]
Sovereignty line in sand
Always Ready, Always There: Democrats Mobilize Against the National Guard Deployment
10 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: constitutional law, economics of immigration, law and order
Below is my column in Fox.com on the deployment of National Guard in Los Angeles. Another round of court challenges are unfolding, but the escalation is likely to continue on both sides. While the Guard’s motto is “Always Ready, Always There!,” California Democrats do not want them between rioters and federal law enforcement. Here is […]
Always Ready, Always There: Democrats Mobilize Against the National Guard Deployment
The Maori Party thumbs its nose at democracy
10 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law, racial discrimination
Michael Bassett writes – Have you noticed how contemptuous the Maori Party’s MPs are of democracy? After all, people who self-designate themselves as Maori are only 17% of the population. And amongst them, only a small proportion vote for the Maori Party. The brutal reality is that much higher numbers of Maori support Labour, while […]
The Maori Party thumbs its nose at democracy
The Ultra Vires Reach of the Resource Management Act: Te Tiriti Obligations, Private Citizens, and the Erosion of Legal Boundaries
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law
Zoran Rakovic writes – This essay argues that the New Zealand government has acted ultra vires by interpreting and applying the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) in ways that impose Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations upon private citizens and resource consent applicants without express statutory authority or due compensation. The practice violates foundational principles of […]
The Ultra Vires Reach of the Resource Management Act: Te Tiriti Obligations, Private Citizens, and the Erosion of Legal Boundaries
Labour’s first and most urgent mission is to knock Te Pāti Māori out of the race
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Chris Trotter writes – “Your mission, Mr Hipkins, should you choose to accept it, is to lead Labour to victory in 2026.” Except, as always, the drama of a Mission Impossible movie lies not in the what, but in the how. Of course Chris Hipkins is willing to lead Labour to a win. The real question is […]
Labour’s first and most urgent mission is to knock Te Pāti Māori out of the race
Counting the Cost
01 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, gender, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law, gender wage gap, sex discrimination
For all the gravitas which Dame Marilyn’s involvement has conferred upon PSCPE, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that it represents a deliberate attempt to morally overpower what is now the law of the land. Chris Trotter writes – The People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity (PSCPE) is looking for evidence. […]
Counting the Cost
Prebble on Labour and TPM
30 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
Richard Prebble writes: Claims standards of parliamentary behaviour have fallen are nonsense. Except for Te Pāti Māori, this is a well-behaved House. The Speaker’s referral of the floor protest to the Privileges Committee was not discretionary. It was required by Standing Orders. The Speaker was lenient. He could have ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to end the Māori Party […]
Prebble on Labour and TPM
The Justices Must At Long Last Deal with Chronic Injunctivitis
27 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: constitutional law
Below is my column on the continuing confusion over national or universal injunctions. The last week has shown that this chronic injunctivitis must end. Here is the column:
The Justices Must At Long Last Deal with Chronic Injunctivitis
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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