John Key Set to Benefit from National Gutting NCEA

Like so many of their policies, the National government’s plan to scrap the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) for "new" qualifications smacks of ideological overreach and corporate influence. At the heart of this upheaval lies a troubling coincidence: the rhetoric of Crimson Education, a for-profit tutoring empire, mirrors the government’s propaganda against NCEA with eerie precision. Former Prime Minister Sir John Key, a senior adviser to Crimson since 2019, stands to gain from a policy shift that could funnel desperate students and parents into his company’s coffers. This smells like a stitch-up, and New Zealanders deserve better than a recycled neoliberal playbook that prioritises profit over pedagogy.

Crimson Education’s co-founder, Jamie Beaton, couldn't contain himself on Q+A (3 August 2025), slamming NCEA as a “rough” curriculum that leaves students “two years behind in core subjects like maths, science.” He bemoaned its lack of international recognition and rigour, pushing for systems like Cambridge or the International Baccalaureate (IB). Just a day later, Education Minister Erica Stanford and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon echoed these sentiments, decrying NCEA’s “inconsistency” and “complexity” while unveiling plans to replace it with the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) and Advanced Certificate (NZACE).

One day after Crimson Education's Beaton appears on Q&A to denounce NCEA, Erica Stanford announces she is cancelling it, ignoring expert advice.

The next day John Key, business partner to Beaton, flog off their new course How corrupt are the National Party?#nzpol #nzpolitics pic.twitter.com/RD2WgVj8eV

— Mountain_Tui (@Mountain_Tui) August 5, 2025

Both Crimson and the government paint NCEA as a barrier to global competitiveness, advocating for a rigid, exam-heavy model that aligns with Crimson’s expertise in tutoring for elite, international qualifications. The synchronicity is uncanny, almost as if the script was written in the same boardroom.

However, this overhaul, announced by Erica Standford and Chris Luxon, with the National Party's usual blame Labour rhetoric, lacks the robust research and consultation such a seismic shift demands. Principals like Simon Craggs of Papakura High School have slammed the proposal as a “step backwards in time,” warning it could marginalise Māori and Pacific students who’ve benefited from NCEA’s flexibility.

Labour’s Willow-Jean Prime has rightly called out the rushed timeline, consultation from 4 August to 15 September 2025 is a mere six weeks for a policy that won’t fully roll out until 2030.

This isn’t consultation; it’s window dressing, reminiscent of the 1990s neoliberal reforms where “consultation” meant ticking boxes while decisions were already made. The government’s reliance on a damning NZQA briefing feels cherry-picked, ignoring years of refinements that made NCEA inclusive and adaptable. Where’s the evidence that a return to A–E grades and mandatory subjects will lift outcomes for all, not just the academic elite?

 

On August 3, 1 News reported:

NCEA leaves Kiwi kids unprepared for future - Crimson head

The NCEA qualification lacks the rigour needed to prepare New Zealand students for competitive universities and workplaces, the chief executive of Crimson Education says.

It comes as an announcement from the Government and Education Minister Erica Stanford is expected imminently on the future of the NCEA system.

Speaking to Q+A, Crimson Education co-founder Jamie Beaton said NCEA wasn't setting students up well for future success, and lacks international recognition.

“To be honest, it’s rough. NCEA is basically not a rigorous curriculum at all, and students graduating with it are often two years behind in core subjects like maths, science as well,” said Beaton. 

 

On August 4, 1 News reported:

Government proposes axing NCEA, introducing new qualifications

The Government is proposing to replace the current NCEA with new national qualifications, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced this morning.

The pair made the announcement in Auckland this morning, saying the current system "doesn’t always deliver what students and employers need".

"We want every New Zealander to reach their full potential and contribute to a thriving economy — and that starts with our students," Luxon said.

 

Jamie Beaton

Jamie Beaton of Crimson Education and Stanford share a strikingly aligned critique of NCEA, asserting its lack of rigour, limited international recognition, inadequate preparation for future pathways, and flawed flexibility that prioritises credit accumulation over meaningful learning. However, these claims can be challenged. The assertion that NCEA lacks rigour ignores its adaptability, which has enabled diverse learners to achieve qualifications, with schools like Papakura High reporting high pass rates. The claim of limited international recognition overstates the issue, as NCEA is accepted by many global universities, and its flexibility allows tailored pathways that rigid systems like Cambridge may not offer.

The argument that NCEA fails to prepare students for future success overlooks its vocational and academic pathways, which have supported students into trades and tertiary study, as evidenced by NZQA’s data on qualification attainment. Finally, criticising NCEA’s flexibility as a flaw disregards its strength in catering to varied learning needs, unlike exam-heavy models that risk marginalising non-academic students, as principals like Simon Craggs warn, potentially exacerbating inequities in a rushed, under-consulted reform.

The costs, both financial and social, will be significant. Redesigning curricula, retraining teachers, and transitioning students over five years will demand millions, yet no clear budget has been outlined. Schools, already stretched by the National Party's austerity, face disruption as they juggle dual assessment systems during the 2028–2030 transition period. Students, particularly from lower-decile schools, risk falling through the cracks in a system that prioritises exam performance over diverse pathways. Craggs warns this could exacerbate inequities, leaving Māori and Pacific students, who make up half our future population, further behind.

Cancel NCEA! NZ education is so poor! AI has to do it instead!

But does anyone know why and when things turned poorly?

2009 - 2012 after significant cuts to education by NZ Prime Minister John Key, the same man advising Jamie Beaton from Crimson Education#nzpol #nzpolitics pic.twitter.com/xsTlwNevmw

— Mountain_Tui (@Mountain_Tui) August 5, 2025

Mainstream media has largely failed to probe the potential conflicts of interest here. While some outlets report on criticism of the reforms, they’ve sidestepped the glaring connection between John Key, Crimson Education, and the government’s anti-evidence based agenda. Key’s advisory role at Crimson, a company poised to profit from heightened demand for tutoring in a more competitive system, raises red flags. Beaton’s Q+A appearance, perfectly timed with Stanford’s announcement, suggests a coordinated push, yet media silence on this link is deafening.

Are we to believe it’s coincidence that a former National PM and his corporate allies are cheerleading a policy that could drive families to Crimson’s pricey services? This isn’t about improving education; it’s about reshaping it to benefit a select few. The government’s haste, lack of consultation, and unbudgeted costs betray a policy driven by ideology, not evidence. New Zealand deserves an education system that uplifts all students, not one that hands the reins to corporate players like Crimson Education. It’s time to call this what it is: a betrayal of our kids’ futures.

Shane Jones’ Sky News Lies

In a cringe-worthy spectacle, Shane Jones, New Zealand First’s shameless spruiker for the oil and gas industry, slithered onto Sky News Australia on Friday, peddling lies so brazen that they would have collapsed under even a whiff of scrutiny.

By blaming renewable energy like solar and wind for New Zealand’s exorbitant electricity prices, Jones swapped truth for fiction, serving his mining cronies while continuing to shaft Kiwi consumers.

Without a shred of skepticism, the hosts, Andrew Bolt, Peta Credlin, and Rowan Dean, fawned over Shane Jones pathetic promotion of polluting industries, swallowing his lies about renewables inflating power bills without any hesitation. Their sycophantic nods peaked when Jones smeared Jacinda Ardern, falsely tying her policies to price hikes, with zero pushback, amplifying the deceit Jones served up on a silver platter.


Today, Sky News reported:

 

‘A 180-degree turn and buried Jacinda’s thinking’: NZ try to recover from high energy prices

New Zealand Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says the increase in electricity bills is due to a “hatred of fossil fuels” and a “false belief” of thinking you can run an economy without “peaking power”.

“The real problem is we were a low-cost energy system … the reality is, the power prices have not come down as a consequence of wind and solar,” Mr Jones said.

“Last winter, I believe we had the highest spiking prices for electricity in the entire OECD.

“We went through a 180-degree turn and basically buried Jacinda’s thinking.”

 

Since the neoliberal reforms of the 1980s, New Zealand’s electricity prices have surged, mainly driven by partial privatization. Economist Geoff Bertram’s 2020 study, “Weak Regulation, Rising Margins, and Asset Revaluations,” shows residential prices soared from 4.84 cents per kilowatt-hour in 1985 to 26.85 cents by 2018, doubling in real terms against an inflation-adjusted 14.08 cents. By 2024, the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment reported prices at 33.06 cents per kWh, a 75% jump from 18.87 cents in 2006. This isn’t due to solar or wind; it’s a market rigged for profit over people.

The last National government (2008-2017) under John Key partially privatised Mighty River Power (now Mercury), Meridian, and Genesis, promising competition would cut costs. Utter nonsense. Bertram notes retail markups spiked, with the energy component up 70% from 2004 to 2018, while gentailers’ asset revaluations drained $10-12 billion from consumers after the reforms.

Contrast this with Jones’ baseless claim that renewables are the villain. New Zealand’s electricity mix is already over 80% renewable, with hydro dominating at over 50% of capacity. Solar and wind, while growing, remain small contributors, hardly enough to move the price needle.

The Electricity Authority’s 2024 reports highlight that price spikes, like those exceeding $800/MWh in August 2024, stem from low hydro storage and reliance on costly gas-fired thermal plants, not renewables. Rising gas prices, driven by depleting domestic fields, add further pressure. If anything, expanding solar and wind could reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuels, stabilising prices in the long run.

So why does Jones peddle this drivel? Follow the money. His cozy ties to mining interests, evident in his advocacy for numerous extractive projects, suggest a vested interest in fossil fuels. Renewables threaten the profits of his cronies in extractive industries, so he spins a narrative to discredit them. It’s a tired old tactic from a politician who seems more comfortable shilling for corporate mates than serving the people he's meant to represent.

The real scandal is the $10.8 billion in dividends gentailers paid out from 2010 to 2020, while generation capacity grew by a measly 1%, as reported by Newsroom in 2024, causing companies to fail. That’s money that could have bolstered infrastructure or eased consumer prices, especially for low-income households facing energy hardship. Instead, it lined shareholders’ pockets. Jones’ refusal to acknowledge this while scapegoating renewables isn't just ignorant...it’s insulting to every Kiwi currently struggling to pay the bills.

90% of NZ Lawyers Linked to Panama Papers Still Practicing

Back in 2016, the Panama Papers ripped the veil off New Zealand’s squeaky-clean image, exposing our foreign trust regime as a playground for tax dodgers and money launderers. The leak of 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, revealed how Kiwi lawyers facilitated secretive trusts for the global elite, some linked to fraud, corruption, and tax evasion.

Fast forward to 2025, and an estimated 45 of the 50 NZ lawyers implicated in the Panama Papers are still practicing, thumbing their noses at accountability. It’s a bloody disgrace, and these legal enablers should be struck off without further delay.

The Panama Papers showed NZ’s foreign trusts, numbering at the time around 11,500 before the leaks, were a magnet for shady characters. From Maltese ministers to Malaysian 1MDB crooks, trusts like the Rotorua Trust and Abbotsford Trust hid assets from tax authorities and accountability.

Lawyers from firms like Cone Marshall, Anchor Trustees, Asiaciti Trust, Bentleys New Zealand, and Staples Rodway were knee-deep in this muck. Named individuals such as Roger Thompson, Karen Marshall, John W. Hart, Michael Reynolds, Nicholas Shepherd, and Geoffrey Cone, played starring roles, setting up trusts or advising Mossack Fonseca on NZ’s lax rules.

Roger Thompson

In fact Named individuals like Roger Thompson, Karen Marshall, John W. Hart, Michael Reynolds, and Nicholas Shepherd, and those implicated like John Key's lawyer Geoffrey Cone, played starring roles, setting up trusts or advising Mossack Fonseca on NZ’s lax rules.

Thompson, Bentleys’ bigwig, appeared in over 4,500 documents, while Marshall’s Cone Marshall managed trusts for dodgy players like Brazilian politician Eduardo Cunha. Hart vouched for Reynolds and Shepherd, who ran Anchor Trustees’ dealings with Mossack Fonseca. These weren’t bit players; they were architects of the widespread laundering of dirty money.

Karen Marshall

The Shewan Inquiry in 2016 admitted some trusts likely enabled tax abuse, though it found no “direct evidence” of illicit funds. They obviously didn’t dig very deeply. The inquiry’s soft touch ignored cases like the 1MDB scandal, where NZ trusts held assets from a billion-dollar fraud, or the Maltese trusts shielding ministers’ wealth.

The problem; NZ’s pre-2017 rules let them hide "settlors and beneficiaries" cash, no questions asked. Staples Rodway even bragged to Mossack Fonseca about NZ’s loose “beneficial owner” definitions, making trust setups a breeze for tax evaders.

 

In 2016, RNZ reported:

Key responds to Panama Papers source

The anonymous leaker of the Panama Papers is confused about the New Zealand Prime Minister's responsibilities, John Key says.

Mr Key has responded to a claim by the leaker of the Panama Papers that he had been "curiously quiet" about New Zealand's role in enabling the "financial fraud Mecca" of the Cook Islands.

Watch John Key respond to claims made about him by the leaker of the Panama Papers.

The source of the leak, "John Doe", has made an 1800-word statement in which he was critical of official reactions to the leak, calling on Britain, the United States and the European Community to take "swift action" - though their leaders are not named.

Speaking in Auckland this afternoon, Mr Key said he had no responsibilities for tax jurisdiction in the Cook Islands.

"I have as much responsibility for tax in the Cook Islands as I do for Russia," said Mr Key.

Mr Key said New Zealand did try to support best tax practice by the Cook Islands government, and had sent officials to help, but the government there ultimately made its own decisions.

Mr Key said the leaker may be confused about the extent of New Zealand involvement because the Cook Islands use New Zealand dollars. But he said in the international media, New Zealand's involvement in the Panama Papers was barely a footnote.

John W. Hart

Post-Panama, John Key attempted and failed to downplay New Zealand’s roll in the extensive tax evasion outlined in the Panama Papers. It took a change of government before anything was done, with Labour mandating trust registration in 2017 and extending AML/CFT rules to lawyers in 2018.

Foreign trusts plummeted by 75–80% to under 3,000, proving many were extremely dodgy. Yet, no lawyers faced the chop.

The NZ Law Society (NZLS) and Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal (LCDT) sat on their hands, hoping the scandal would blow over and letting Thompson, Marshall, Hart, and others escape any fallout.

Ken Whitney

Their actions were supposedly “legal” under New Zealand’s old rules. But that’s a complete cop-out. The UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime prohibits the type of money laundering outlined in the Panama Papers. These lawyers clearly profited from a system slammed globally as a tax haven, which hid ill-gotten gains and undermined NZ’s integrity.

Today, an estimated 45 of these 50 lawyers are still practicing without any proper oversight. Firms like Cone Marshall and Staples Rodway hum along, while Thompson’s Bentleys remains Mossack Fonseca’s NZ office. No suspensions, no strike-offs, no accountability.

Geoffrey Cone

The NZLS’s continued silence is deafening, and the public’s left largely in the dark wondering why legal ethics seem optional for lawyers? These dishonest people enabled global fraudsters, from Cunha to 1MDB looters, and their continued practice mocks our political and justice systems.

It’s time to clean house. The NZLS must properly investigate Panama Papers-linked lawyers, starting with Thompson, Marshall, Hart, Reynolds, and Shepherd, whose ties to Mossack Fonseca are undeniable.

In my opinion, Parliament should further tighten the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act to bar enablers of financial crime. NZ’s reputation took a hit; but we shouldn’t let 45 lawyers waltz free after they have spit in the face of good practice and undermined the integrity of our great country.

Trump’s Tariff Tantrum Has Backfired

Donald Trump's tariff tirade, sold as a patriotic push to “Make America Great Again,” is backfiring spectacularly, driving iconic US manufacturers like Boeing and John Deere to pack their bags and head for the exits. Far from reviving the heartland, Trump’s trade war is gutting it, and the numbers paint a grim picture of an economy teetering on the edge.

Let’s start with the carnage. Trump’s “Liberation Day” on April 2, 2025, unleashed tariffs as high as 54% on China, 46% on Vietnam, and 25% on South Korea, Japan, and Canada, among others. The pitch? Protect American jobs and bring manufacturing home. The reality? A complete disaster.

Companies such as Boeing, John Deere, Ford, GM, Stellantis, and Harley-Davidson are shuttering US plants, with at least 50,000 manufacturing jobs lost since April. While these figures are unverified, they align with the economic chaos unfolding. John Deere, threatened by Trump’s 200% tariff for moving production to Mexico, is doubling down on offshoring to dodge the skyrocketing costs of US production. Boeing, reliant on global supply chains, faces similar pressures as tariffs inflate costs and disrupt trade. Make no mistake, these companies are trying to survive, and are only looking to offshore their production because of Trump’s destructive tariffs, the exact opposite of what the orange fool apparently wanted to achieve.


Today, CNBC reported:

Trump trade tariffs slump widens to ‘nearly all U.S. exports,’ supply chain data shows

What began as a rapid drop in U.S. imports as shippers cut orders from manufacturing partners around the world has now extended into a nationwide export slump, with the U.S. agricultural sector and top farm products including soybeans, corn and beef taking the hardest hit.

The latest trade data shows that a slide in U.S. exports to the world, and China in particular, that began in January now extends to most U.S. ports, according to trade tracker Vizion, which analyzed U.S. export container bookings for the five-week period before President Donald Trump’s tariffs began and the five weeks after the tariffs took effect.

The farming sector has been warning of a “crisis” and ports data is showing more evidence of lack of ability to move product out to global markets. The Port of Portland, Oregon, tops the list with a 51% decrease in exports, while the Port of Tacoma, Washington, a large agricultural export port, has seen a 28% decrease. Tacoma’s top destinations for corn, soybeans and other ag exports include Japan, China and South Korea.

The economic toll is staggering. The Penn Wharton Budget Model projects Trump’s tariffs will slash US GDP by 8% and wages by 7%, with middle-income households facing a $58,000 lifetime loss. That’s not pocket change…it’s a gut-punch to working families that will keep hurting for many years to come.

The Tax Foundation estimates an average tax hike of $1,300 per US household in 2025 alone. Inflation, already a voter sore spot, is spiking. The University of Michigan’s consumer confidence survey shows long-run inflation expectations at a 32-year high, with two-thirds of consumers bracing for rising unemployment. NPR reports the economy contracted at a 0.3% annual rate in Q1 2025, a sharp reversal from 2.4% growth in late 2024, with tariffs fueling recession fears.

Despite the fallout from Trump’s monumentally stupid tariff’s, right-wing idiots like John Key are still claiming that there is some sort of plan. 

 

Today, 1 News reported:

 

Sir John said he "wasn't entirely surprised" at Trump's call to go ahead with the policy.

"They're just a negotiating point. I think he simply put on widespread and high rates of tariffs on every country to give himself a leverage point and a negotiating point.

"What I think he actually grossly underestimated was the stock market reaction. He saw not just the stock market, but the bond market imploding.

The only time we should be hearing from John bloody Key is when he's trying to explain about his own insider trading scandal. Why exactly haven't the mainstream media reported on this?

The problem here is that Trump and his sycophants simply don’t understand how modern day manufacturing works. This wasn’t a plan to try and negotiate better trade deals. Instead, it appears to be a plan for Trump and his mates to manipulate stock markets to line their own pockets. If this was a plan to negotiate better deals, it has failed spectacularly and come at the cost of thousands of US jobs and trillions of dollars.

Ultimately, Trump has eroded trust in the United States to such a degree that countries are now actively avoiding trade negotiations. Key’s claim that there was a workable plan is perhaps the dumbest analysis yet, given that Trump is displaying all the signs of a dictator in complete cognitive decline and his tariff’s regime has entirely failed to achieve the stated goal of bringing back manufacturing to the US.

Markets are reeling too. The S&P 500 plummeted nearly 5% on April 3, its worst day since June 2020 when the entire world had to shut up shop because of Covid. It even flirted with bear market territory. JP Morgan now pegs the odds of a global recession at 60%, up from 40%, solely because of the orange buffoon. Trump’s claim that tariffs will “make the country boom” again rings hollow as consumer confidence also tanks to its lowest rate since the pandemic.

The irony? Trump’s tariffs are doing the exact opposite of what he promised and hurting his blue-collar supporters the most. Instead of reindustrialising America, Trump's idiotic tariffs are deindustrialising it, pushing manufacturers abroad and jacking up prices for consumers. This isn’t economic patriotism; it’s economic vandalism. As the US economy shrinks and China’s grows, Trump’s trade war looks less like a strategy and more like a self-inflicted wound...a wound that the United States would be well advised to cauterize before it bleeds out.

Luxon keeps contradicting himself

What is it about right wing leaders thinking they can fit their narrative to whatever audience is in front of them? It’s almost like they aren’t aware of how modern day reporting works. Or perhaps they think they can simply bluff their way out of any given sticky situation they’ve created for themselves.

A prime example of this was on display last Monday when newbie National Party leader Christopher Luxon told a predominantly right wing audience that he would get tough on people he described as bottom feeders, namely beneficiaries who’re living in state houses. I’m sure this beneficiary bashing went down well amongst Newstalk ZB listeners, but if Twitter and Facebook are anything to go by the majority of people who keep an eye on politics these days certainly didn’t think his comments were appropriate.

Luxon then did a backflip during an interview with John Campbell where he attempted to explain away his divisive comments. He even claimed that he was all for increasing benefits to ensure people reach their potential. However, after listening to Luxon’s initial interview and considering his previous fervour while attacking impoverished Kiwi’s, Luxon’s claim that he now cared about “bottom feeders” clearly needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

On Wednesday, 1 News reported:

Christopher Luxon explains his 'bottom feeding' comments

Breakfast's John Campbell questioned Luxon about his comments in the bulk of their interview - nine minutes to be exact - on Wednesday.

In part of his interview with Kerre McIvor on Monday, Luxon had said: "I've got to be honest to all of your listeners. This is a fantastic country. This is the best country on planet Earth, but we have to determine we want to realise our maximum potential economically, socially and environmentally, and we want to be a place everyone can flourish. And if you want to have a go and you want to make something of yourself, we don't just do bottom feeding and just focus on the bottom, we focus on people who want to be positive and ambitious and aspirational and confident, right?"

The comments made it to Twitter and Reddit.

Asked first off who he has aspiration for and who he wants to lift up, Luxon responded: "My general theme is look I think we've been playing quite a small, negative, inward, fearful game and I think New Zealand is a place that's about confidence, ambition, aspiration, going forward. I'm ambitious for every New Zealander. I want all New Zealanders to be able to flourish in this country. I want everybody to realise their potential and that's what we're here to do."

Replaying Luxon his Newstalk ZB comments, Campbell then asked him what he meant by "bottom feeding".

"My general theme there, John, was exactly what I just talked about before which was saying - look we want to have confidence, ambition, aspiration for all New Zealanders and we've got to celebrate that. It's important we celebrate that. What I was meaning there was the fact that the reality is we actually believe and want to help everybody who's doing it tough in this country as well and so we've got to care deeply about everybody."

The problem for Luxon and the National Party is that he’s obviously losing his credibility by explaining. Lux Flakes might be getting a bit of media attention, but he’s also offending both right and left wing voters with such mealy-mouthed indecisive statements. Instead he should stick to one statement concerning what the National Party would stand for under his leadership and not attempt to back track all the time.

We witnessed Luxon doing exactly the same thing in regards to his comments about wanting women who require abortions to be jailed and treated like murderers. After a backlash, he then miraculously changed his fundamentalist belief system. It would therefore appear that the new blue “team” leader is attempting to play both sides of the field and failing miserably! Similarly, John Key would often score own goals by using this dishonest tactic while trying to illicit public support. In fact this questionable method was a major component leading up to Key’s resignation and National losing the 2017 election.

So instead of making contentious claims or aspirational statements that he later sweeps into the bin, Luxon should come up with some actual budgeted policy ideas that don’t simply copy policy the Labour Government has already, or intends to, announce. We need to see a plan of how the National Party proposes to govern New Zealand for them to be considered a viable alternative. Because at the moment all we’re hearing are the unreliable words of someone who appears to be a complete political novice.

Amateur hour with Christopher Luxon

You’ve got to wonder why the National Party, in the face of a worldwide pandemic that has killed approximately 6 million people, is continuing to be so terribly dysfunctional? Perhaps it’s a symptom of their upper management, who despite numerous party leaders coming and going, never actually changes.

Unfortunately for the right wing a lack of discipline has now become a feature of the National Party. Not only were the previous four leaders an utter disaster in terms of their ability to unite what is a very tired and worn out institution, the current leader is doing nothing to invigorate his fellow neoliberal MPs and often promotes archaic beliefs that leave most voters with a bad taste in their mouths.

Christopher Luxon, who the mainstream media attempted and failed to promote as the National Party’s saviour, has been provided with ample opportunity to gain the narrative and failed miserably each and every time. Not only does the oppositions new leader appear to be a novice when it comes to all things political, he’s also unable to communicate properly even when our invariably biased mainstream media help coach him along the way.

This is in stark contrast to National’s previous leaders and Luxon’s apparent mentor John Key, who used to court controversy in order to attain media attention. While it’s commendable that Luxon isn’t following entirely in their misguided footsteps, that lack of coverage provides the public with a sense that the blue team, after being thoroughly beaten, has now decided to just lie down and die.

Last week, Luxon had another opportunity to become the leader National so desperately needs.

On Saturday, RNZ reported:

Covid-19: National Party MP attends second anti-lockdown and mandate protest

A National Party MP who attended a Covid-19 vaccine mandate protest today has deleted pictures she posted on Facebook.

Whanganui List MP Harete Hipango posted a picture of herself on Facebook, at a rally in her electorate today.

The post showed protesters carrying placards reading "lockdowns destroy livelihoods, truth will prevail and it's not about health, it's about control".

In text accompanying the images, Hipango wrote about freedom and choice and criticised the label anti-vaxers.

…

National Party leader Christopher Luxon said he had had a word with Hipango.

"I have talked to Harete and she has taken her post down. The views of the group she was with do not align with those of the National Party.

"I am strongly supportive of vaccination, as is the National party. I encourage everyone to take that step as the best protection, for themselves and their family, against Covid."

However, instead of rising to the occasion, Luxon simply rolled over and let one of his misguided MPs again appeal to the anti-vaxxers. If the new leader of the opposition was truly in favour of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, which has in fact saved Aotearoa in terms of our well-being and economy, he would have forced the dishonest Hipango to resign, or at least publicly and properly admonished her for attending numerous anti vaccination protests.

The fact that Luxon has failed to act in accordance with his party’s supposed position and instead implied support for the anti-vax movement, which represents less than 2% of the voting public, shows that he’s not really in control at all. In deed it seems that others are pulling the strings while Luxon appears to still be a backbencher whose name most Kiwis will likely struggle to remember.

Combine this weak and ineffectual approach with Luxon’s previous ‘abortion should be treated as murder’ statements, a position supported by less than 4% of the voting public, and it’s clear that the deluded fundamentalist who's obviously suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect will never come close to being able to challenge a progressive and popular leader like Jacinda Ardern.

New Zealand has moved on and if the National Party wants to remain relevant they will as well.

Collins is crushing her own credibility

Even before Judith Collins became overlord of the National Party, you could tell there was a huge ideological divide between her questionable values and those of the party’s former leaders. And just over a year after becoming the opposition's de facto leader, that chasm between Crusher and what her party once stood for couldn’t be more apparent.

Under her misguided leadership, the National Party have not only been campaigning against policy that they themselves enacted while in power, they're also criticising law and order initiatives that Judith Collins had implemented when she was a Cabinet Minister of John Key's neoliberal Government.

It’s an unprecedented political situation that senior political reporter David Fisher delves into with some much-needed insight and detail.

On Friday, the (pay-walled) NZ Herald reported:

National's new tough on crime campaign uses bad data, cherry-picked stats and attacks a justice scheme Judith Collins helped set up

A new social media campaign by the National Party on law and order has criticised a strategy aimed at curbing crime that was set up when Judith Collins was a Cabinet minister overseeing it.

The criticism is based on linking Labour Party policies to a quote from police stating "arrest is now the exception" that fails to explain the comment was made in relation to some low-level offending that goes before iwi community panels. 

…

Collins, the National Party leader whose image fronts the social media campaign, was Minister of Police in 2010, then Minister of Justice in 2014, when her officials began an evaluation of the programme.

The evaluation was reported back in 2016, when Collins was again Minister of Police, and has since been rolled out across the country.

This is a shocking indictment of just how ideologically blind the blue "team" has become.

Not only is National ignoring irrefutable evidence with their unrelenting tough on crime dogma, they're also attacking law and order policies that Crusher Collins had previously authorised in her capacity as a Minister of the Crown.

But that’s not the only thing the National Party are getting entirely wrong in their fervour to remain politically relevant. They’re also completely disregarding what the New Zealand Police are saying concerning changes to reported crime statistics. 

Analysis of other areas targeted in National's social media post - increased victimisation and claims of gang numbers increase - appeared to show selective use of data or a reliance on discredited data.

On gang numbers, this and other social media posts had seen National push the claim gang numbers had increased despite police saying the data could not be used to show actual numbers of gang members.

An interview request to Collins on the claims in the social media campaign resulted in a statement - from her office - attributed to the party's police spokesman Simeon Brown.

You know your party has lost a lot of talent when your tight five consists of Simeon Brown. pic.twitter.com/bnGDrVDEEw

— Damian Christie (@damianchristie) July 16, 2020

The list was started in 2016 as an intelligence tool to monitor those in or associated with gangs and had been added to as police awareness grew. The number of people on the list had gone from 5343 in 2016 to 8061 last month.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says the National Gang List does not provide statistical insight into gang numbers.

The growth in numbers largely reflected increasing awareness by police of those with gang links. It also showed - as Commissioner Andrew Coster had acknowledged - how difficult it was to be removed from the list when an association with a gang ended, including through death.

However instead of believing the Police Commissioner like normal grownups, the National Party is busy intentionally burying their heads in the sand and trying to make mountains out of molehills. They are in effect increasing the anxiety already felt about crime within our communities, which isn’t just a socially foolish thing for elected officials to do; it’s morally reprehensible as well.

On victimisations, Brown provided data showing serious assault resulting in injury had doubled under the current government from 10,679 in 2017 to 21,344 in 2020.

It was an increase police had previously linked to new family violence offences introduced in December 2018 that "resulted in police recognising and recording these more serious offences".

"It has also resulted in the realignment of some domestic common assaults into these new offences."

The new offences came in under the Family Violence Act which was originally introduced to Parliament under the National government as the Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill.

Data shows the number of incidents in which people have been affected by crime to be stable around 265,000 victimisation.

It would be good to see the National Party actually holding the Government to account with some valid arguments for a change instead of crying wolf all the time. Because without a properly functioning opposition that isn’t hell bent on fomenting fear just to get attention, we cannot hope to tackle the more pressing issues that need to be addressed in New Zealand.

Mike King needs to get his shit together

If there is one thing that we need more of in New Zealand, it’s good people who actually give a damn about preventing suicides.

That’s because despite a small reduction in 2020, our already incredibly high suicide rates have been getting even worse over recent years, which clearly points to a lack of adequate services and an increase of things that disproportionately effect those most at risk, like poverty and inequality.

However what we don’t need is people using their own failings to have a go at a Government who clearly cares about suicide prevention and is working hard to reduce those terrible statistics.

On Tuesday, Newshub reported:

Mike King lashes Jacinda Ardern over funding for Mongrel Mob rehab scheme but not Gumboot Friday

Mike King has hit out at Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over funding a Mongrel Mob-run rehab programme, but not his charity Gumboot Friday. 

…

But King slammed the Prime Minister after his pleas for funding were turned down.

Last month, the Ministry of Health rejected funding for Gumboot Friday, which was founded by King and provides free counselling for young people. The ministry said Gumboot Friday's funding application was outside the timeframe for procurement, meaning it could not be funded. 

In a Facebook video posted on Monday night, King criticised the Prime Minister for giving the Mongrel Mob programme funding, but not his charity.

On Thursday, Newshub reported:

Mike King slams National for 'pretending' to care about Gumboot Friday, 'offensive meme'

Mental health campaigner Mike King has lashed out at the National Party, accusing them of 'pretending' to care about his charity Gumboot Friday. 

It comes after National MP Chris Bishop posted a meme on his Facebook page on Wednesday mocking Labour for funding a meth rehab but not King's charity. The meme was also shared by Simeon Brown. 

... 

On Monday, King slammed the Prime Minister's choice to fund the meth programme but not his charity, despite missing the funding deadline.  

In a Facebook video, King said he didn't have an issue with the programme being given money, but he took issue with Ardern taking credit for it despite telling him she couldn't be involved in deciding whether his charity got money or not.

If King didn’t have a problem with the Government funding a Mongrel Mob run meth rehabilitation program, then why did he complain about it on Tuesday?

"When I asked you to have a conversation about it in the Koru Club, you looked me in the eye and you said, 'Mike I cannot get involved in this, we have a fair and equitable system and I cannot be involved in funding decisions'.

Even though they're related, a drug rehabilitation program obviously has different funding criteria than suicide prevention services. King must know this, which makes his complaint even more dumbfounding!

However what really makes me wonder if King has his heart in the right place and isn't simply using suicide as a political weapon here is that he never applied for funding in the first place.

Yesterday, Newshub reported:

Mike King addresses 'misinformation' about Gumboot Friday funding, says he never applied

Mike King is blasting the Ministry of Health for its "blatant lie" that the mental health advocate failed to get his funding application for Gumboot Friday in by the deadline - arguing that in fact, he never applied at all.

In a video posted to his Facebook on Friday, King addressed what he says is misinformation circulating around the funding of Gumboot Friday, and urged people not to believe it.

"The fact is, I have never applied for funding for Gumboot Friday - we have never put in an application and if you haven't put in an application, it can't be late."

This is no joke. Surely the comedian should have actually applied for funding before going on the news to complain about not receiving any? We wouldn’t then have numerous right wing propagandists jumping on the bandwagon to have a crack at Labour about Gumboot Friday missing out.

Now I don’t mean to join the pile on, but King really does need to get his shit together. Because this type of flakiness obviously doesn’t help anybody who might be considering suicide. They will be taking these types of complaints and the mainstream medias misinformation at face value, and may even believe that there’s no help available at all.

You've also got to wonder how exactly we're meant to have the conversation about suicide with such a large amount of blatant disinformation going on?

Notwithstanding what the right wing wants us to believe, the Labour led Government has in fact been working towards solutions to turn the tide. First they had an inquiry that resulted in the He Ara Oranga report, a suicide prevention action plan and a dedicated Suicide Prevention Office. They also established the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. Combine that with increased funding for mental health and addiction services and we should soon be seeing a gradual reduction in our world leading suicide statistics.

Sure, not much of that unprecedented $1.9 billion the Government allocated to support the mental wellbeing of New Zealanders has gone out the door (23% allocated with 6.6% spent to date), but this is light years ahead of anything National ever did under John Key.

So just take a deep breath there Mike King. Because if you don’t do the mahi and get your funding applications in on time, you’ve got nobody to blame but yourself.

Where to get help:

1737, Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor

Lifeline – 0800 543 354 or (09) 5222 999 within Auckland

Samaritans – 0800 726 666

Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)

thelowdown.co.nz – or email team@thelowdown.co.nz or free text 5626

Anxiety New Zealand - 0800 ANXIETY (0800 269 4389)

Supporting Families in Mental Illness - 0800 732 825

Winston's last throw of the dice

You’ve got to wonder if Winston Peters will ever retire. I mean what keeps the old rogue going? Perhaps Peters has been reinvigorated by the Government’s decision to follow through on various policy NZ First had previously put the kibosh on...or maybe he thinks there's still a chance of becoming PM. Whatever his reasons, it appears that Peters doesn’t want his political career ever to end.

There are a number of problems Peters must overcome first however, one being that his party is sitting on just a percentage point in latest polling. This lack of support should be considered a death sentence for any political party, but especially one with a leader who’s so long in the tooth. In my opinion this means that Winston will never again influence policy decisions in New Zealand.

Yesterday, Stuff reported:

Winston Peters attacks Labour, 'cancel culture', and te reo usage in comeback speech

NZ First leader used his first speech since losing power to attack the Government now operating without him on a laundry list of culture war issues.

But Labour was not alone: Also on Peters’ hit list at his party’s annual general meeting was the media, the Greens, National, the Māori Party, cyclists, “cancel culture,” and the increased usage of te reo in public life – particularly the phrase "Aotearoa”.

“Who signed up to this plan to change New Zealand’s name? Who was asked. When were you asked?” Peters said.

He took particular issue with the fact the Climate Change Commission used the word “Aotearoa” over 1300 times in a recent report but “New Zealand” just 161 times.

As if attacking the Government over things National and ACT have already had a decent crack at is going to work. The main problem however for NZ First's hopes of re-election isn't just their competition, it's their failure to properly address the issue of $700,000 worth of secret bribes their NZ First Foundation received, a scandal that the party was embroiled in right through the last election. A high court trial is set down for midway through 2022.

It certainly appeared that while in Government NZ First was advocating for and on behalf of various vested interests because of the kickbacks their NZ First Foundation had received. It was also clear that NZ First lost considerable support from older right-wing voters who didn’t like seeing a party they previously thought was honest being dragged through the courts and humiliated in the media.

In fact Peters hasn’t attempted to address their valid concerns in the least, presumably because he has no excuses. It therefore doesn’t matter what issues Peters grasps at because his continued bravado in the face of overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing should ensure NZ First remains on the outskirts of our political system, perhaps forever.

Peters attacked the Government over mental health, the decision to buy the land at Ihumatao, upping the Bright Line Test, remove referendas on Māori wards, the vaccine rollout, the feebate, the He Puapua report, KiwiBuild, and the stalled light rail project in Auckland.

He called the feebate “breathtaking economic illiteracy” and said the light rail project faced “insurmountable hurdles”.

Peters said the Government was “enabling a wave of rights-based activism in-and-outside of Government.”

“Everything in 2021 is now rights-based – or indigenous-rights based – demanding co-governance, or the climate strikers demanding the right to be taught more of their obsession in the curriculum.”

Another problem for NZ First is their reliance on a one-man band. Obviously the enigmatic Shane Jones doesn’t have the respect required to claw back any votes once Peters retires. Neither do any of the other NZ First candidates have the standing needed to rally much if any support. Without any succession plan the NZ First Party's days are clearly numbered.

So that leaves NZ First’s last throw of the dice totally in the hands of Winston Peters, who appears to just be going through the motions. Sure, his ability to attract the attention of some bored journalists and charm elderly predominantly white voters has played a large role in his party’s success, but the main reason NZ First managed to get back into Parliament in the past was a sequence of blunders by his opponents, usually just prior to a general election.

Those missteps, the most notable being the teapot tape scandal, often provided Peters with a much-needed platform that he likely wouldn't have had otherwise. Just two weeks before the 2011 general election for instance Peters knew exactly what to say after National Party leader John Key was caught discussing the death of NZ First supporters, which obviously rallied the troops behind Peters like nothing else could.

However that type of priceless exposure won’t happen prior to the 2023 election, mainly because Jacinda Ardern is first and foremost too much of a nice person to follow in Key’s nasty footsteps. She’s also a very skilled and experienced politician who along with the Labour Party has been relatively successfully at navigating any topics Peters might use against the Government to gain the publics attention.

It’s not like Peters has any knew ideas to offer either, just the same old rhetoric we’ve all heard a thousand times before. Complaining about Māori place names for example isn’t exactly newsworthy or going to attract new supporters, especially when there are such a large number of right wing politicians already courting the racist vote. Likewise, the other issues Peters raised in his keynote speech have already been well canvassed by either National or ACT whose similar arguments haven't been very convincing if the polls are anything to go by.

So my advice to Winston Peters is to quietly retire, because the respect and influence NZ First is searching for has disappeared like a puff of smoke in the wind.

Key is a fool

Property speculator - John Key

The National Party must be in dire straits to have to rely on John Key to campaign on their behalf. Not only has the former PM been in the news claiming the recently released unemployment figures aren’t accurate, the fool has also been promoting the opening up of our borders to let wealthy speculators buy up houses, so that the property bubble doesn’t burst.

But if that wasn’t enough stupidity for one day, Key has also been promoting the flawed idea that universities are capable of running isolation and quarantine facilities and therefore wealthy international students should be allowed back into the country.

There is of course a very big problem with the right wing's argument to reduce border restrictions, COVID-19. Evidence shows countries that opted for fewer restrictions are now facing a prolonged economic downturn.

New Zealand however is in an enviable position of not only having a functioning economy…but also no community spread of the deadly virus. But don’t tell that to the deluded John Key.

Yesterday, Newstalk ZB reported:

Sir John Key: Unemployment figures 'not accurate'; wants more foreign investment 

Former Prime Minister Sir John Key wants to encourage rich Americans to buy New Zealand property to help reduce the impact of a looming "financial crisis". 

He told Heather du Plessis-Allan that border restrictions should be loosened so that universities and companies could bring in foreign students and skilled workers and pay for their own quarantine. 

And he said foreigners buying New Zealand property would provide work for Kiwis whose jobs are disappearing. 

"Let's focus on what we can do. We've got this crazy foreign buyer ban," he said.

So a dishonest property speculator is advocating for more foreign property speculation to increase his profit margins. Foreign speculation, which was something the National Party severely downplayed while John Key was in power, is why thousands of Kiwis are currently priced out of the property market. Unfortunately in New Zealand you can no longer work your way into home ownership by doing a normal nine to five job, because houses have become an over-priced commodity, largely due to offshore investors.

It’s also pretty stupid to argue that sinking even more money into housing is good for the economy. Most of the time the money attained just sits in a rich persons bank account doing nothing except making them richer. It’s not an investment that's beneficial to New Zealand either, because it simply ensures more inflationary pressure and therefore increases the number of Kiwis who cannot afford to buy a house.

In fact one could argue that keeping hard working Kiwi families renting forever and effectively in the poverty trap is bad for the actual economy. It certainly isn't good in terms of social cohesion. Invariably it's much better to invest in productive industries that create employment opportunities rather than overpriced and often empty houses that don't employ hardly anyone.

"Why don't we let in rich Americans who want to build a house in New Zealand? Who cares? They're in Mangawhai or somewhere, they are going to create thousands of jobs. 

"Why do we care if someone who lives in New York wants to spend $10 million building a house in Auckland, using NZ craftsmen and NZ tradespeople?"

Why do we care if rich Americans put even more pressure on our recourses using scarce tradespeople to build houses that will likely sit empty? Good god John Key is so stupid! It’s no wonder the housing problem became a crisis under his watch. The man is so blinded by his own self-interest that he simply cannot see the bigger picture.

Besides, why exactly would you risk people’s lives just for a short-term bump to the economy anyway, when the long-term result would be financially and socially catastrophic for New Zealand?

Key is also on the wrong side of history here. 68% of Kiwis want the border restrictions to continue, even if that means an economic recession. That’s a clear majority not wanting to risk community spread of COVID-19 in God’s own. That is also therefore a majority of Kiwis who won’t be voting National at the next election.

National lacks credibility on housing

National MP Nicola Willis

Housing, which I would argue is a fundamental human right, has long been a problem in New Zealand. Not only do we have some of the most overpriced houses in the entire world, much of the housing stock is substandard and therefore affects not just people’s health and our standard of living, but also our productivity and subsequently the economy as well.

So what can be done about it? Well despite the National Party’s repeated claims, the Coalition Government has in fact been doing a lot to try and fix the housing crisis. Has it been enough? No! But we’re talking about a problem that has been decades in the making. For the right wing to argue that it should’ve been fixed in just one term of a Labour led Government is slightly absurd to say the least.

Through their own ineptitude, the National Party has little to no credibility on important issues like housing, and therefore are unable to effectively critique the current Government, which is a serious problem for political discourse at the moment. In fact much of the right wings criticism is for problems they ignored or largely created while in power, which makes their disapproval of the current administrations progress, albeit incremental, all a bit ridiculous!


Today, NZ Stuff reported:

National Party admits it sold too many state houses

National’s new housing spokesperson has admitted the party was wrong to sell and convert more state houses than it built when it was last in office.

Nicola Willis, who took the housing portfolio in a recent reshuffle, told RNZ the net reduction in state houses under the last National government showed that governments needed to continue increasing the number of state houses.

Willis said National sold or converted “a couple of thousand” state homes.

“I think what we can see from that is yes, the Government needs to build state houses,” she said.

Willis accepted there was net loss of state houses under National.

Now if only National would stop denying reality on all those other important issues as well.

Willis said National acknowledged government building was part of the solution to the housing crisis, but it had to be supplemented by things like reform of the Resource Management Act (RMA) and rental regulations, which were discouraging investment.

A large part of the problem is that many politicians view housing as a commodity and not as an essential service. It therefore doesn’t matter if the Resource Management Act gets repealed or if there’s a promise to build more state houses, because the crucial cause of housing being scarce and unaffordable will remain unless there is a fundamental change to how those in positions of power view their investments. That’s because the housing market isn’t governed by supply and demand, it’s currently governed by rich and powerful people’s greed.

There are 200,000 empty houses in New Zealand, many of them perfectly suited as places of residence. They sit vacant while various political factions endlessly argue about who has failed the most on housing. Invariably those assets will continue to gather dust while the often idle owner’s paper wealth increases. Unless a large chunk of those properties are reintroduced into the housing market, the problem of unaffordability, homelessness and a dilapidated rental stock will remain very strong handbrakes to any economic recovery post COVID-19.

The other problem is that the current Government, Banks and RBNZ have done everything they can to ensure the housing market remains over-inflated. A two-tier welfare system, mortgage holidays, business subsidies and an incredibly low OCR are all designed to stop the housing bubble from bursting. That’s because many politicians and public officials have investments that would be negatively affected if the market properly corrected itself. Nicola Willis for instance has pecuniary interests in at least four properties, meaning she, like most politicians, will never implement any policy that might decrease the excessive wealth tied up in property.

She said that National’s record on housing would have been better if it had been allowed to stay in power for longer, as many better, well-insulated houses were under construction when the party left government after the 2017 election.

This is just rubbish! There was no evidence that National was going to build anywhere near the number of state houses that New Zealand requires. In fact they spent most of their time in power denying there was a housing crisis at all.

The current government was also having difficulty defending its own record on housing. Its flagship KiwiBuild housing programme was meant to build thousands of homes a year, but to date, fewer than 400 have been completed.

It was so far behind that it would take more than 400 years to reach its ten-year goal of building 100,000 houses.

It had a far better record on state housing, adding thousands of houses to the stock, although this had not been enough to keep up with a skyrocketing housing wait list.
Willis said the latest figures were “an indictment on the Government”.

Unfortunately for political reporter Thomas Coughlan and the National Party's housing spokesperson, as of May 2020, 575 houses had been built and sold under the KiwiBuild scheme, with another 321 awaiting sale. By using out-dated figures, you’ve got to ask if Nicola Willis is suitable to be a Member of Parliament at all, let alone promoted into Todd Muller’s shadow cabinet? I mean where exactly is the merit in having a dishonest idiot at the table?

It’s one thing to finally admit that John Key oversaw a net reduction of state houses, but to then ignore that her own government used unfair criteria to remove thousands of people from the state housing waiting list is incredibly dishonest! There's no question that the current Government’s removal of those restrictions is why there’s a large increase in people on the list. To ignore this fact and claim a system that now better recognises the true depth of need in our communities is extremely deceitful, even by National Party standards.

You would have to be exceptionally biased to believe that the state housing mess that National created over nine long years could be fixed in just one term. But I guess delusion, plus a good amount of self-interest, is what still drives the National Party these days. It certainly appears to motivate Nicola Willis’ wilful ignorance of her own party’s woeful track record on housing.

In praise of Jacinda Ardern

Well I must say that Jacinda Ardern has been a breath of fresh air when it comes to Prime Ministers. She has all the makings of a great leader, including, but not limited to, an inherent ability to see through people’s bullshit! This is perhaps a quality she attained from her policeman father.

But let’s be entirely honest here, Jacinda Ardern is simply doing her job. It might seem that she's some sort of miracle worker, however that appearance is partly due to the fact that the majority of other world leaders are entirely hopeless and in some cases downright corrupt!

So when a caring and professional politician like Jacinda Ardern comes along and has the political willpower to legislate for positive social change and actually endeavours to lead New Zealand through these trying times, then it can appear as if she’s some sort of superhero. However I can assure readers that Ardern is still a human being, albeit one that always undertakes her responsibilities in an exemplary manner.

Jacinda Ardern - Prime Minister of New Zealand

That’s why it's great to see some of the international high praise she has recently received, praise I might add that the Prime Minister has hardly had any time to acknowledge. Even John Key has put his political proclivities aside to commend Ardern’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, which has entirely deflated the current National Party leader, Simon Bridges, and his unwarranted criticism of the Governments timely and well-planned response to the pandemic.


On 27 March, MSN reported:

'Faultless': Former PM Sir John Key praises Jacinda Ardern's COVID-19 communication 

Former Prime Minister Sir John Key has praised Jacinda Ardern's communication skills amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. 

"I think she's an outstanding communicator," Key told MagicTalk host Ryan Bridge on Friday. 

… 

He said her address to the nation on Saturday announcing the alert levels for the coronavirus pandemic was "faultless".

On April 8, Newstalk ZB reported:

Top US newspaper praises NZ: 'It isn't just flattening the curve, it's squashing it' 

New Zealand's cautious optimism over its battle against coronavirus is now front and centre of the world, with the influential Washington Post reporting "a triumph of science and leadership". 

Under the headline, "New Zealand isn't just flattening the curve. It's squashing it", Post journalist and Kiwi Anna Fifield has outlined the political, social and health measures taken by the Government over the past month - including the level 4 lockdown and the early success indicators.

On 10 April, Newshub reported:

Coronavirus: CNN praises Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand COVID-19 response 

US news giant CNN continues to pile praise on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying Aotearoa is setting an "ambitious goal". 

… 

During a segment with the banner "Lessons in leadership: New Zealand's virus response", CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson said New Zealand is "setting a very ambitious goal, trying to eliminate the disease completely from its shores". He called border closures introduced in mid-March a "dramatic move for an island nation whose economy depends on tourism".

It seems that many countries are copying New Zealand’s approach. Even Donald Trump belatedly announced a wage subsidy scheme, which is but one example showing that the President is out of his depth. His complete lack of empathy is also in stark contrast to the leadership of Jacinda Ardern, who some have likened to the new leader of the free world.


On Saturday, MSN reported:

Piers Morgan heaps praise on Jacinda Ardern for taking a pay cut during the coronavirus pandemic - and slams other politicians for not doing the same

Piers Morgan has praised New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for taking a pay cut during the coronavirus crisis while criticising his own ministers for not following her lead. 

Politicians in the UK and Australia have doubled down on their refusal to reduce their pay packets since Ms Ardern said she and her top staff would slash their salaries by 20 per cent.

On Sunday, The Atlantic reported:

New Zealand’s Prime Minister May Be the Most Effective Leader on the Planet 

Jacinda Ardern’s leadership style, focused on empathy, isn’t just resonating with her people; it’s putting the country on track for success against the coronavirus. 

… 

Jacinda Ardern, the 39-year-old prime minister of New Zealand, is forging a path of her own. Her leadership style is one of empathy in a crisis that tempts people to fend for themselves. Her messages are clear, consistent, and somehow simultaneously sobering and soothing. And her approach isn’t just resonating with her people on an emotional level. It is also working remarkably well. 

People feel that Ardern “doesn’t preach at them; she’s standing with them,” Helen Clark, New Zealand’s prime minister from 1999 to 2008, told me. (Ardern, a fellow member of the Labour Party, got her start in politics working for Clark during her premiership.) “They may even think, Well, I don’t quite understand why [the government] did that, but I know she’s got our back. There’s a high level of trust and confidence in her because of that empathy.”

Also on Sunday, 1 News reported:

'Empathy in a crisis' - Jacinda Ardern's Covid-19 leadership praised by international media

Meanwhile, a Financial Times opinion piece titled "Arise Saint Jacinda, a leader for our troubled times", said Ms Ardern offered lessons in leadership. 

“Ms Ardern has been a model of compassionate leadership in this crisis,” wrote Pilita Clark.

This is only a small sample of the many published international accolades Jacinda Ardern has been receiving for her excellent leadership skills, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis.

However it’s important to remind ourselves that New Zealand isn’t out of the woods just yet. We still have a long way to go to ensure COVID-19 doesn’t get a second chance and a huge marathon to run in order to rebuild our economy through supporting local businesses.

We can however thank our lucky stars that Jacinda Ardern is the Prime Minister in charge. It’s only through her hard work and scientifically based decision making that New Zealand has almost no community spread and one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 leading to death in the entire world.

I'm sure you'll agree that we should do everything in our power to help her ensure that New Zealand can become 100% COVID-19 Free in the not too distant future.

200,000 empty houses in New Zealand

I hope we all finally agree that there actually is a housing crisis in New Zealand? Unfortunately the last National led Government largely ignored the problem, with John Key even making things worse by selling thousands of state houses to National’s rich property investor mates.

Of course the housing crisis isn't just about a lack of supply. It’s also fuelled by a low waged economy and disproportionately high rental prices meaning many Kiwis are unable to save for a deposit. In fact a low owner occupancy rate is one of the largest problems facing our great nation. People simply aren’t invested in their communities anymore.

So it’s good to finally see some attention being given to the issue.


Today, NewstalkZB reported:

Empty houses for homeless: 'Phone call from Housing NZ not likely to change owners' minds'

Auckland Council and the Government are looking at alternative options to housing the city's homeless.

Mayor Phil Goff has suggested using so-called ‘ghost houses’ and asking their owners to open them up for housing New Zealand tenants.

Executive Officer of the New Zealand Property Investors Association Andrew King told Heather Du Plessis-Allan a property may be empty for a raft of reasons.

“There are all sorts of reasons why they could be empty. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to be available to someone.”

He said he wouldn’t have a clue how many so-called ‘ghost houses’ are out there.

“I don’t think there’s any really good statistics on this.”

The negative effects resulting from these ghost houses, like homelessness, should not be underestimated. It’s obvious a failed market driven housing system that has resulted in many under-utilised assets throughout the country causes many social problems.

But I'm not sure that making requests to tenant ghost houses with homeless people will work. Many of these properties are worth millions of dollars and most speculators won't have a bar of helping out their fellow Kiwis because they think the benefits don't outweigh the risks.

So what is the extent of the problem? Well unlike the homelessness rate there are in fact reasonably good statistics to show how many ghost houses NZ has, which is something Andrew King would know if he bothered to read the news.


Yesterday, Newshub reported:

Push for people to allow homeless to live in empty investment properties

Auckland's housing crisis is now so bad the Mayor wants to try and convince people with empty investment properties to let homeless people live in them.

They're what are known as "ghost-houses" and they're becoming more and more common.

Now there's a push to get homeless people into them due to how limited supply is.

"We're not only having a housing crisis; it's turned into a housing disaster. We're seeing families actually borrowing money to pay the rent," said Bernie Smith from Monte Cecilia Housing Trust.

At the 2018 census, there were nearly 1.9 million dwellings in New Zealand.

Nearly 200,000 of those were unoccupied. The vast majority, nearly 40,000 were in Auckland.

With an average of 2.7 people per household in New Zealand these 191,649 unused properties could house around 517,452 people.

That’s more than half a million Kiwis that could be making better contributions to our economy through increased productivity. Instead, many people are forced to reside in overpriced and substandard housing, which is a drain on our health system not to mention an overall increase to human suffering.

These ghost houses are obviously a drain on our economy and simply limiting a few foreigners from purchasing property and failing to put any substantial downward pressure on house prices through increased supply clearly hasn’t helped to fix the housing crisis to the degree required.

Instead of leaving many thousands of Kiwis to remain the victims of a failed neoliberal ideology, which has resulted in incredibly overpriced housing with significant long-term costs to society, the Government must do more work towards moving people out of unhealthy homes; off park benches and into better more affordable housing. Reducing the number of empty houses would go a long way to achieving this worthy goal.

But unless house prices decline dramatically and over a sustained period of time, the speculators simply won’t relinquish their under-utilised property investments. The perverse incentive for them to simply leave houses unoccupied because the capital value of their properties keeps increasing each year is too strong, and clearly needs to be tackled through some targeted legislation.

Therefore the only option the Government logically has, if it wants to significantly reduce homelessness and find a realistic remedy to the other negative consequences caused by these ghost houses, is a targeted Empty House Levy to incentivise owners to rent or sell their unused properties. Anything less is just lip service.