Articles in ‘Opinion’

Like many of you I suspect, I was distressed reading the account of the attempt by Oranga Tamariki, the fashionable name for the Ministry for Children, to remove a new-born baby from its 19-year-old mother in Hawke’s Bay a few weeks ago. Then I read that three Maori babies are taken into state custody every week around the country, and that in the particular Hawke’s Bay case, the…

The New Zealand Parliament has led New Zealand in grieving following the terrible Christchurch terrorist attacks and we have joined together to change the law to ban the ownership of semi-automatic military style weapons and other enabling equipment and we have enacted an amnesty and a compensation scheme for weapons that are surrendered. But now we must get back to the business…

In the 1980’s Parliamentarians began an unsuccessful search for the elusive “principles” to interpret the words of the Treaty of Waitangi. In 1985 the Court of Appeals Judge Robin Cooke, with the Treaty in one hand and his law manual in the other, declared he could define these missing principles. Judge Cooke determined the Treaty was a legally binding business contract between…

Last year, there was a lively debate in New Zealand about what should, and on the other hand what should not, be banned. This was triggered initially by Phil Goff’s attempt to prevent two Canadian speakers from speaking in Auckland. It turned out that, on being challenged by the hastily constituted Free Speech Coalition (of which I am proud to be one of the initial members), Mr…

If you now consider that proof has been produced to make David the murderer, where does that leave the many specialist and expert witnesses who gave evidence for the defence? Where does that leave the claims by the defence council, Michael Reed QC, that Robin murdered his family because of Laniet’s claims of incest? Where does it place Michael Reed’s assertion to the jury that…

On June 20, 1994, five members of the Bain family were shot in the head using David Bain’s .22 rifle. The defence argued that the father, Robin Bain, had shot his wife, two daughters and his youngest son Stephen, then committed suicide with the same rifle. The Police charged the eldest son, David Bain, with the murder of all five family members. There are a multitude of issues in…

I have no difficulty understanding why many people are strongly in favour of a capital gains tax. They see a minority of New Zealanders enjoying the very good life, living in a luxurious home, going on international trips every year, driving a late model Lexus. They suspect that much of this wealth comes from “unearned” and untaxed capital gains, often on housing investment as a…

It is very hard to find words even now to express the shock, disbelief and upset that all New Zealanders, including my colleagues in Parliament and myself, experienced, as we heard the details of the terrible terrorist attacks on the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue and then the Linwood Mosque in Christchurch as they unfolded, on New Zealand’s darkest day Friday 15 March. The news…

“Putting in tens of millions of 5G antennae without a single biological test of safety has got to be about the stupidest idea anyone has had in the history of the world.” – Professor Emeritus Dr. Martin L. Pall, PhD[^1] An introductory article about 5G discussed how the potential environmental and health risks of the technology have been almost completely ignored by most media…

Last month, I mentioned, there is a multitude of issues in this case. Not least the legitimate tactics employed on both sides to present their side of the argument. The trial lasted 3 months and 183 witnesses were called. Four million dollars were spent on legal aid for the defence. Nearly another million was paid to the defence team to stop further litigation, all at the…

A few months ago, I wrote a column highlighting some of the serious things which are going on under our collective noses to provide, or in some cases, continue to provide special privileges to those New Zealanders who chance to have at least one Maori ancestor – along with ancestors of other ethnicities in every case. I listed the continued existence of separate Maori electorates…

For the last few months, controversy has swirled regarding the proposed 5G system for New Zealand after the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) warned that using Huawei equipment posed a security risk. However, national mainstream media has somehow neglected to cover the extremely serious potential health and environmental effects of 5G. As things stand, NZ’s…

The public might assume that justice equals the truth, with regards to any Court Case brought before the New Zealand court, however in our adversarial system they may not be the same thing at all. New Zealand’s justice system is part of our system of government. New Zealand’s government is modelled on the British system (the Westminster model) and is based on a concept called…

As someone who has been forced to deal with a couple of serious medical conditions in the past, I am accustomed to “worst scenario” theories offered by professionals. And also, quite thankful for them. I would much rather hear the worst and hope for the best. I wonder if scientists and other professionals commenting on climate change are doing the same; warning us of the…

Last month, I wrote about some common misconceptions about the profitability of the banks operating in New Zealand, and noted that the Big Four Aussie banks, while quite profitable compared with banks elsewhere in the world, are not wildly profitable in comparison to many other listed companies in New Zealand. I noted that other banks in New Zealand are not nearly as profitable,…

Every now and then, there’s a surge of concern, sometimes even anger, at the banks. They make too much money. Their profits go overseas. They no longer provide services in country towns. Their culture needs watching carefully by the regulators, lest they exploit their customers. They should be subject to more controls. I’m a bit hesitant to discuss these issues because I can…

A shortfall of 900 teachers today: 2,000 plus students without permanent teachers. By 2020 a shortage of 2,500 teachers. Costs driving teachers out of Auckland. Leaky homes! Housing shortages. House prices! The cost of energy: electricity and petroleum. Monopoly and duopoly markets operating with little effective control over pricing models. A billion dollars, annually, for the…

Six months ago, I wrote a column about the five local referenda which defeated the attempt of five district councils to foist separate Maori wards on their districts. And about the open letter which Local Government New Zealand had written to the Government urging it to change the law so that citizens would no longer have the right to have a say on this issue. I decided to give…

In recent months, we have seen a rash of strikes – teachers and nurses in particular, with other sectors suggesting that they may strike also unless the people who work in those sectors get a substantial wage or salary increase. Of course, people say, that’s what you’d expect when we have a Labour- New Zealand First Coalition Government. They’re a worker-friendly government, so…