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
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
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
Updates on the Reform Act and Fixed-Date Elections
26 May 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics, Public Choice Tags: Canada, constitutional law

Nova Scotia Shows a Better Way In February, I outlined a government bill tabled by Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia, which contained a line to repeal the province’s fixed-date elections law, amongst other things. The omnibus Government Organization and Administration Act received Royal Assent on 26 March 2025, and thus makes Nova Scotia both […]
Updates on the Reform Act and Fixed-Date Elections
Racist or righteous? Privileges Committee versus Te Pāti Māori
21 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
Ani O’Brien writes – I have written many times before about narratives and the role of constructing the binary of good and evil in politics. This week we again see how storytelling is shaping a prominent political conflict with the race to own the narrative as the Privileges Committee hands down its recommendations. On the […]
Racist or righteous? Privileges Committee versus Te Pāti Māori
The Nail in the Coffin for Maori Seats
21 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
Don Brash writes – I don’t know about you, but I have had a gutsful of the disrespect and disdain Te Pāti Māori show for our Parliament and for all of us. With their hateful rhetoric and disruptive antics they have demonstrated that Māori seats have become the home of the most extreme race activists.
The Nail in the Coffin for Maori Seats
Labour goes all in with Te Pāti Māori
20 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
The Labour Party can’t form a potential Government without TPM, so they appear to have decided to go all in on their behalf. Evidence: Personally I’m delighted. The more Labour hug the toxic TPM, the more it will doom them come the election as voters realise that a vote for Labour is a vote for…
Labour goes all in with Te Pāti Māori
Courting Controversy: Justices’ Side Commentaries Undermine the Supreme Court
20 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: constitutional law

Below is my column in The Hill on the controversy this month over extrajudicial comments made by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. These are only the latest such comments by justices that became distractions during the discussion of pending cases before the Court. Here is the column:
Courting Controversy: Justices’ Side Commentaries Undermine the Supreme Court
“We Study Fascism…We’re Leaving the U.S.”: The NY Times Runs Video of Yale Professors Fleeing to Canada
17 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, Canada, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, regressive left

The New York Times continues to work tirelessly to maintain the narrative that the United States is now a fascist regime. Earlier, the Times demonstrated its view of balanced analysis by running a collection of legal opinions titled “A Road Map to Trump’s Lawless Presidency.” Now, it is featuring three Yale professors fleeing fascism for […]
“We Study Fascism…We’re Leaving the U.S.”: The NY Times Runs Video of Yale Professors Fleeing to Canada
“An Act of Solidarity”: Sotomayor Calls for Lawyers to “Fight this Fight” in Controversial Speech
11 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: constitutional law

Justice Sonia Sotomayor has previously been criticized for making public comments that some viewed as overly political or partisan, including telling law students to organize in favor of abortion rights. This week, the Justice has triggered another controversy in calling for lawyers to “fight this fight,” presumably against the Trump Administration.
“An Act of Solidarity”: Sotomayor Calls for Lawyers to “Fight this Fight” in Controversial Speech
Extreme measures by democratic governments
07 May 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, health economics, law and economics, war and peace Tags: constitutional law, economics of pandemics, war against terror, World War II
Democratic governments, despite their commitment to rule of law, civil liberties, and political accountability, have occasionally undertaken temporary extreme measures when facing grave national crises. These actions are typically justified as necessary to preserve the state or protect the population, though they can be controversial or later seen as overreach. Here are several notable examples: 1. Suspension […]
Extreme measures by democratic governments
A new chapter in Canadian constitutional history? The King’s return to Parliament
06 May 2025 1 Comment
in economic history, politics Tags: British politics, Canada, constitutional law
Mark Carney announced last week that the King will open the Canadian Parliament in person later this month. It’s unusual for the Canadian Monarch to give the Speech from the Throne. The last time this happened was in 1977 when Queen Elizabeth II opened Parliament during her Silver Jubilee tour. Carney’s invitation is notable because […]
A new chapter in Canadian constitutional history? The King’s return to Parliament
Democracy in danger
03 May 2025 1 Comment
in politics - USA Tags: constitutional law, France, Germany
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency on Friday designated the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, as an “extremist endeavor,” a move that lowers hurdles for the spy agency in conducting certain kinds of surveillance on the party, the second-largest in Germany’s parliament. In a statement, the intelligence agency said the designation was “due to the […]
Democracy in danger
The First 100 Days: The Method Behind the Madness in Court Challenges
02 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, constitutional law, economics of immigration

Below is my column in the New York Post on the first 100 days of the Trump Administration in court. It is too early to handicap many of these lower courts decisions. I have been critical of some of these orders as either premature or unconstitutional. There is a reason for the hyperkinetic pace of […]
The First 100 Days: The Method Behind the Madness in Court Challenges
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