The Government unveiled a scheme within their Queen’s Speech and Coalition Agreement which could pose a direct threat to New Zealand trade relations to an unmanageable degree while overall doing nothing in their interests for reducing carbon emissions. The Bugle of Liberty writes this article alongside a piece soon to be released by our business correspondent surrounding the Capital Gains Tax backlash by Business NZ and The Bugle of Liberty believes this proves a consistent pattern by this Government showing a lack of good fiscal management and irresponsibility in the affairs of business.

“multilaterally impose carbon tariffs on nations that violate the goals and aspirations included in climate change treaties supported by New Zealand”

The Queen’s Speech

Many say that this pledge is apart of the pledges of this Government to address their shortage of any real definitive climate policy last term and takes the completely wrong approach to the issue. There are concerns that this pledge will fundamentally threaten trade in this country and will not have any of the effects it will promise.

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Tariffs – Playing with New Zealanders livelihoods

Tariffs are a duty that the Government implies to all goods which come into New Zealand without exception. A Carbon Tariff therefore is something which is applied on a similar vein unless a country or company cuts their carbon emissions.

Tariff Programs inherently are an inhibitor on free trade and cause major concerns about the impacts that it will cause on the average New Zealander who will suddenly see the price of tariffs imposed on them. This furthermore comes with concerns that the application of a tariffs program invites retaliation by those we place it on which starts trade wars which leads to both nations having major additional costs paid by exporters and importers and will bring the entire economy into a state where trade is hindered and squashed. The Liberal Party has a history in standing against Tariff programs of any kind and The Bugle of Liberty has the belief that the freedom of trade and exchange is a vital freedom in the economy.

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The danger of this program

This program therefore poses a unique threat and danger to New Zealand businesses and New Zealand consumers and is seemingly a direct pledge by this Government to impose tariffs on nations.

Some of New Zealand’s largest trading partners in Australia and China both fail to meet their carbon emissions pledges as outlined in many of the agreements they have signed and ratified. This means that this Government will impose tariffs inhibiting access to Chinese goods and Australian goods which come into this country unless that country “makes an effort to lower emissions”. This means that China and Australia will likely place retaliatory tariffs on New Zealand goods which will get us involved in a trade war. If New Zealand got involved with in a trade war with China, which accounts for 24% of our exports and 20% of our imports to an overall value of $8.79 billion and $7.28 billion respectively, then we would see our economy drained of economic activity and output and see a major trade war which will sink our economy into recession. We will see businesses forced to close and see the overall economic activity of New Zealand waiver. We will enter hard times near instantly and New Zealanders will feel the burden of this Government’s program directly on their wallets and in the economic headwinds. In a trade war with China, we will lose as we contribute far too little to China while China has such a large impact on us. When New Zealand contributes 0.57% of China’s overall imports while China contributes 20% of our imports while 24% of our exports go to China while 0.3% of their exports come to us, you know that is a war which will suck money out of the economy and which we will undoubtedly lose.

From there then we have Australia. Ignoring for a second the massive $10.1 billion worth of trade between our two countries, this is where we can fully understand what ramifications this will have diplomatically. This Government claims to want to support a program to expand residency rights with Australia. How do they plan to do that when they propose slapping tariffs on $4.5 billion dollars of Australian trade? This proves how this program will be devastating for our diplomatic relations and instantly invalidates one of the three key pledges by this Government in the field of Foreign Affairs and a policy which many argue was a cornerstone of Labour Party policy during the elections.

Factors of Trade	Chinese Trade Relationship	Australian Trade Relationship
Net Import Value for NZ	$7.28 Billion	$4.51 Billion
Net Export Value for NZ	$8.79 Billion	$5.61 Billion

This is of course only two examples of countries which will be effected. This is not considering that the United States doesn’t meet their obligations either. If we account overall for these three big trading partners, we come up with 42% of our imports being threatened and 48% of our exports being threatened as well.

This isn’t just a short-term program either, tariffs programs inherently move away business to and from New Zealand permanently. Whether it is the closure of exporters within New Zealand or the fact that potential importers take their business away from New Zealand, New Zealand loses overall.

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The Actual Impact of the Carbon Tariffs

However, the Green and Labour parties might justify this by stating that these programs will have an overall effect on lowering carbon emissions and come with a clear demand. The question is, however, whether that will actually manifest and whether this will actually reduce carbon emissions.

The question is how the overall lower amount of imports and export destinations that New Zealand goods account for in these markets will be enough to justify the maintenance of these programs. If Chinese or Australian business don’t choose to just look for another country to send their goods which they’ll produce in the exact same way, they’ll likely just place tariffs back on us and expect New Zealand to yield because of the larger impact tariffs on us will have for us compared to the impact that tariffs on them will inflict on their economy. The companies and countries will still produce goods in the exact same way and this impact will do next to nothing in the hopes of trying to get them to lower emissions. The costs of moving business elsewhere or waiting for New Zealand to tap out will likely be lower than the costs of abiding not only by the tariff program but changing their production so radically as to match their goals as a nation. This means that the program is infeasible as a means actually combating emissions.

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Closing Thoughts

This is a program by this Government which will quite frankly destroy our trading relationship with most of the world and deeply strain our diplomatic relationship with these countries. The Government will have to take measures therefore to either halt this program and drop the policy in which case they’ll be dropping their flagship foreign affairs policy and would have campaigned and pledged absolute lies or they’ll maintain it stubbornly and ruin the New Zealand economy.

This is apart of the overall Government’s War on Business which has been made evident by their pledges and commitments this term. They have begun a program of scapegoating all of New Zealand’s problems on businesses and are taking ill-thought actions to harm business growth and opportunity. The Bugle of Liberty plans to release a full series of articles on the topic of the War on Business with our next piece on the controversial Capital Gains Tax.

The Bugle of Liberty therefore advises, for the sake of the New Zealand economy, for the Government to drop this program and drop their policies which shows a deep lack of fiscal responsibility and economic mismanagement.

Sourav Naria-Singh, Foreign Affairs and Trade Correspondent, The Bugle of Liberty

Editorial: The Government drops the ball on energy

The Government unveiled today in their Speech from the Throne their plans to create a new state owned energy company to compete in domestic New Zealand markets for energy. This is obviously assuming that a state owned company won’t find itself grossly noncompetitive and will have to be massively propped by the taxpayers own dollars to keep a company alive which trades at slightly lower costs for taxpayers creating a cycle where taxes are up to keep the company alive which takes from consumers which gives back to consumers a lower bill every month.

“Finally, this government will open a state owned energy retailer to compete with those in the private market to ensure that New Zealanders get the best deal on energy.”

Speech from the Throne

However, what I found interesting was the fact that the Government chose to speak of their program as though they were founding a brand new company to trade in the electricity market and setting a precedent which doesn’t exist. How they’d create a brand new state owned energy service to compete and aim for lower prices for New Zealanders. What a fantastic idea this was to their heads and maybe many of those Government officials wondered why no one had done it before.

The issue is, someone had.

Meridian Energy is a company in New Zealand which uses 100% renewable methods to generate electricity to sell to the New Zealand market. It is a long-standing company with firm roots in New Zealand’s electricity energy and is swiftly out-competing other industry veterans like Mercury.

The other interesting thing about Meridian Energy is that it is owned by the Government and is a state-owned enterprise.

“Listed on both the NZX and ASX, the Meridian Group is one of New Zealand’s largest listed companies and employs around 1,000 people across New Zealand and Australia. The New Zealand Government is our majority shareholder at 51%.”

Meridian Energy website, “Who We Are”

This coincides with Meridian Energy distributing its power via Powershop in New Zealand

“If you send us a copy of a current bill after you sign up, in most cases we can offer you Guaranteed Savings. This means if you end up paying more for power with Powershop than you would have paid your old power company over 12 months, we’ll make up the difference. Terms and Conditions apply.”

Powershop website, Pricing

What does this show New Zealand then?

What this shows New Zealand is that the Government cannot even do the most basic of research into their own policies and fails to deliver on key areas of research before they send their policy to the manifesto teams and get them printed into their coalition agreements.

Very rarely in New Zealand history do we see a Government make a key manifesto pledge be to do something which has already been done and act like it is something brand new. However, the Green Government has done just that and pledged to create a new power company where one already exists.

If the Green Government can drop the ball on electricity this early in the term (Literally the start of the term) there is a question here about what we can trust them on and what other faults there are in their pledges.

We will also see the nature of the Green Government to come. Either we will see a retraction of the apology which proves that a mistake was made and they acknowledge it which shows a lack of actual concrete research beyond good headings or they will maintain the program and never achieve it before eventually quietly slipping the policy away into the future. We will see come the dawn shall we?

For the start of the term, the Green Government seems to not be bothered to even come up with effective policy or policy which hasn’t already been done. I think this should be a major source of shame from a Government which seems to be having a very rocky start to their term.

Marcus Lockheart, Business Correspondent, The Bugle of Liberty

The Government has been revealed today to be another three years of a Green-Labour Government with the support of the Kiwi Party. The only new addition is Later_Slater, the independent MP for Ikaroa-Rawhiti who has revealed a confidence and supply agreement with the Government. The Bugle of Liberty went straight to Parliament House and our reporters are currently at the scene preparing to write further articles on the matter.

“I am proud to announce the establishment of the Fifth ARichTeaBiscuit Ministry, a government that will respect the mandate that we have been given by the people and work hard to deliver on our promises.”

Prime Minister ARichTeaBiscuit

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Coalition Agreement and Confidence and Supply

The Government has failed to release at their own press conference a definitive coalition agreement. A coalition agreement is commonly used to show a “checklist” for Government promises and a Government is commonly expected to be held accountable to that coalition agreement. Therefore, the lack of releasing a coalition agreement is a mistake which will likely be remedied but could show a disdain for Governance from the Government. This comes off worse knowing that the Government failed to deliver many of their own pledges, especially in the fields of Commerce and Consumers and Maori Affairs.

However, they have released two different confidence and supply agreements. A confidence and supply agreement is a pledge to support the Government while not being a direct Government party. This means that in exchange for pledging to vote with the Government on the budget and in any Vote of No Confidence, the Government will adopt policies from their partners in such an arrangement. This term we see the Kiwi Party and Independent Later_Slater give their confidence and supply for the Government bringing their effective majority to 13 seats, a healthy margin for the Government.

The Kiwi Party’s Confidence and Supply Agreement is one of a series of pledges mostly matching Government policy.

The legislative policies they’ve agreed to are subsidies for EVs and HEVs and subsidies for the construction of charging points. This is a good policy position for making a drastic shift towards electric vehicles to help deal with the massive climate emissions which daily vehicular activity produces. This coincides with the Green Party campaign election promises for cycling and walking infrastructure and shows the Green Party image of a clean and green New Zealand. However, many are concerned by policies which offer direct subsidies with the Liberal Party stating that such proposals for subsidies could impact how the market is handled and would need to be implemented properly to have an actual effect while furthermore being expensive to New Zealand taxpayers. This coincides with the protest of many groups against corporate subsidies who argue that the program is giving a massive hand-off of taxpayer money to large corporate entities with no direct promise of any real effect.

Next is aiming to reduce prison population and measure our prison system using standards similar to the Finnish system of justice with a focus on rehabilitation. This is a seemingly bipartisan area in politics and seems to garner a lot of support from all sides of the aisle. The objective of a fifteen year plan means that the Government plans a bipartisan program which will likely be continued by successive Governments (Unless the Green Party expects to run New Zealand for another fifteen years)

Next is a more vague policy area with amendments to the Online Gambling Act passed during the last term of Government. What these amendments are is unknown and vague and seems to be an open check for Kiwi to implement whatever changes they see fit into the Act.

Next is a pledge to plant an additional ten million trees. This continues to match with a shift from the Kiwi Party towards an environmental shift and feels like the Kiwi Party is just filling some of the holes the Green Government likely forgot of when they were crafting their coalition agreement.

Finally, expanding support for small business is thrown in as well which has met a lot of support among the Liberal Party. This support comes on the back of the payouts to large petrol companies pledged earlier and seeks to hint towards major spending programs to attempt to boost small business. What such support looks like is unknown.

The Green Government has also made a deal with Later_Slater, the Independent MP for Ikaroa-Rawhiti. Most of the pledges made to him appear to be some common sense rural reform and seem to match a rural affairs outlook with a particular focus on regional healthcare. We haven’t heard any real objections on this issue and it seems to have a lot of support in Ikaroa-Rawhiti where reporters interviewed local individuals who have supported the moves by Later_Slater and supports the policies he has gotten through.

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The New Cabinet of New Zealand

Portfolio	Minister
Prime Minister	ARichTeaBiscuit
Deputy Prime Minister	Boomfa_
Minister of Finance	FTMP
Minister of Education	Captain_Plat_2558
Minister of Health	Boomfa_
Minister of Business	Boomfa_
Minister of Justice	Frod02000
Minister of Maori Affairs	NotTheDarkWeb
Minister of Social Development	MerrilyPutrid
Minister of the Environment	Captain_Plat_2558
Minister of Foreign Affairs	ARichTeaBiscuit
Minister of Defense	UncookedMeatloaf
Minister of Infrastructure	FTMP
Minister of Regional Development	Imnorabbit
Minister of Internal Affairs	Imnorabbit

Above is a table describing the cabinet breakdown of the next Government of New Zealand. The Bugle of Liberty will now breakdown the history of many of these individuals and express many of the general opinions and histories we have heard surrounding this Cabinet.

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ARichTeaBiscuit is welcomed into their fifth term as Prime Minister meaning they will soon be overtaking Premier Richard “King Dick” Seddon in length of term served (Though they will not match his service which was consecutive compared to the more staggered terms ARichTeaBiscuit has served). ARichTeaBiscuit will not only be returned as Prime Minister but also as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This decision is an odd one considering the scathing criticism they have received for mishandling the Minerva Reefs crisis with a major lack of communication with both the Tongan and Fijian Government which indirectly led to the deaths of three Fijian servicemen and negotiating a white peace which results in a return of the status quo. ARichTeaBiscuit is expected to serve as an experienced and capable hand in guiding the cabinet.

The firebrand leader of the Labour Party is welcomed into Cabinet with three major portfolios. Boomfa_, who campaigned on achieving a Labour-led Government, has come out with the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister, Business and Health this term. This means that Boomfa_ will be giving up their previous portfolio areas of Education and Defense in exchange for these important roles. This places the management of business interests and indirectly the economy, our healthcare services and perhaps even the management of the country in the hands of Boomfa_ this term. This is likely done as the Labour Party has introduced and campaigned on an economic platform during the election especially with their flagship policy of moving the ports of Auckland to Northland. As Minister of Health, Boomfa_ will have to coordinate the program to scrap GP fees which has raised concerns among New Zealand medical practitioners and local medical service providers who are concerned that Government programs to scrap GP fees will lead to underfunding for medical services and cost-cutting measures being taken to save money for the Government.

The new MP for Waitemata, UncookedMeatloaf, comes into Cabinet with a serious demotion from his previous responsibilities. From his old portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister and the Environment, we see him stripped of both and given the portfolio of Minister of Defense instead. For a Government with no real policies pledged so far in the field of Defense, many wonder what his new responsibilities will actually be in this role. For the co-leader of the Green Party, many feel this is a serious demotion and firmly plants ARichTeaBiscuit in a position as the clear leader of the Green Party. Furthermore, this appointment comes as a surprise due to his previous expulsion from Parliament and questions arise from that among many voters.

Alongside UncookedMeatloaf, another expelled Minister is returned in the form of FTMP. Unlike UncookedMeatloaf who has been relegated to a fairly minor Government portfolio, FTMP is still at the forefront of Government policy and will be responsible for the momentous tasks of Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure. This means that FTMP will be responsible for not only delivering and passing a budget but also on implementing the Green party’s promise to introduce the 25% Capital Gains tax and on the Labour Party’s flagship policy on moving the ports of Auckland to Northland. This is a heavy set of responsibilities and to place a Minister who had previously been expelled for inaction in these important areas either hints to an increase in trust or an inherent establishment party structure where FTMP could not be shifted or moved from his position.

Imnorabbit is another firebrand MP who has gotten in numerous arguments with frequent contributor to The Bugle of Liberty Gregor_The_Beggar. The MP for Northland, imnorabbit seems dedicated towards moving the ports of Auckland to his own electorate and on the creation of a provincial growth fund and on a reduction of immigration to a “manageable level”. The policy to move the ports of Auckland has been met with major criticism especially in the financial sector. Policies to move the Ports of Auckland would have to be accompanied by either development of a major motorway up past Warkworth which goes against the principles of the Green Party or would have to be met with a rail project to connect the likely location of Whangarei with Auckland. Not only would this increase travel time for goods immensely which will slowdown the Auckland economy but many have raised concerns that the policy will rip away hundreds of union jobs in Auckland and could be incredibly costly. A rail solution would be met with the immense challenge of a swamp in-between the pathway to Auckland from Northland which would have to be cleared and redeveloped. This is not even considering the additional costs of logging which would have to accompany this which makes the Government’s pledge to plant ten million trees feel a bit more redundant considering the amount they’d have to clear for any development up north. Furthermore, concerns about the Provincial Growth Fund as having too vague of a purpose still remains and introducing a Minister in charge of Immigration who wants to lower immigration seems counter-intuitive to the Green Party and their pledge to support migrant communities. The Bugle of Liberty will be releasing an article soon surrounding the concerns with some of these projects in-depth and wish to state that we wish the Minister the best of luck in implementing this project.

The MP for Aoraki MerrilyPutrid will be serving in the role of Minister of Social Development. She is expected to implement some of the Green and Labour party programs aiming to protect beneficiaries and to implement their priorities of putting those on Government benefits at an important place of distinction.

Captain_Plat_2258 better known as Kate is an upcoming Green MP whom many have lined up for leadership positions within the party. She has come out of a successful run for the Manukau electorate and has gotten the portfolios of Education and the Environment for her hard-work and efforts. The Bugle of Liberty recently sat down with her and the interview will be released shortly. She comes into the position off the back of controversial spending programs in Education and lack of any real concrete policy in the field of the Environment. Hopefully she serves with distinction in her role.

NotTheDarkWeb_ is the former leader of the Labour Party and a well-known Maori politician. Facing a very strong challenge from the Maori Party candidate Spectacular_Iceberg (Who recently accepted a job at The Bugle of Liberty), NTDW is expected to address the Government’s major shortage in Maori Affairs policy from last term. The Government last term faced a lot of criticism for failing to implement a single Maori Affairs policy despite holding onto the seat of Rohe and there are many hopes among tangata whenua throughout New Zealand that the Labour Party delivers the concrete objectives which the Green Party failed to deliver.

The final Minister is Frod02000 who is known for his time as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure before being replaced by NeatSaucer who lost re-election in the recent election. Frod02000 is expected to deliver on the areas agreed upon by most parties to make a shift towards rehabilitative justice.

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Closing Thoughts

This Government will be a Government held to a high standard for the left and represents the greatest minds within it. They have a clear mandate to govern and while they are met with plenty of criticism, The Bugle of Liberty wishes them the best in implementing their policy and in governing New Zealand.

Alex Hughes, Beehive Correspondent, The Bugle of Liberty

The Government has just faced a major crisis in the way that it operates with the expulsion of both it’s Deputy Prime Minister and it’s Minister of Finance. Two of the most powerful men in this country with the power of succession and the power of the purse in their hands have been expelled completely from our House for failure to turn up to repeated votes.

When I woke up in the morning at the start of this week, I didn’t expect to be rushed around the place being called upon to help fix a crisis.

When my birth nation of Fiji began a territorial conflict, I hoped that I would be able to use my own efforts and manage to convey to both sides that I wished to sit in the middle and mediate a Pacific problem in the Pacific way. While my personal opinions weighed on the side of the Fijians due to the evidence presented to me so far, I do think that the Tongan perspective was something to be fully considered and my mind was always completely subject to change if evidence was presented. I am a man who acts on evidence and that may have led to a few rash decisions and words in preserving what I saw as justice. That is something I am fully willing to apologize for if it led to a distrust by Tongans to my viewpoints and my very real desire to help.

The Opposition invited Fijian and Tongan officials to meet with me in the Pacific way, face-to-face and with our families all around. I invited them to drink Kava and to discuss with me their own perspectives and concerns surrounding this conflict. Unfortunately, only the Fijian official accepted my invitation. However, our conversation was deep and insightful and allowed for me to fully understand the Pacific way and why Fiji chose to act the way it did. I’m operating under the assumption everything we spoke of was confidential as I have respect for my allies words in private but I will state that the major concern currently was surrounding the deaths of the three Fijian service members as anyone can reasonably have assumed.

It was this desire to reach out in the Pacific way which alienated me against the Government and their demands. They claimed I have violated neutrality by asking my Pacific brothers to meet with me. That I’m inexperienced and partisan and can’t hold together any Foreign Affairs situation. I’d like to say I’m more like someone unwilling to lie about my opinions and to state that I want an argument to be made for both sides before I decide what the next course of action is.

The Government however proved their own failures when they treated with the Tongan Government.

The Tongans have stated that they have felt alienated by the Government and have felt this Government has failed to address their concerns and address them in the Pacific way. They’ve had no communication with the Government and have found that to be a highly disappointing situation.

“Why has no-one within the New Zealand government reached out to us? Why, when Fijians invade Tongan land, were we not met with support or even anything other than being treated as simply an equal aggressor? The people of Tonga demand answers, and we demand them now.”

Tongan Media Release

The Opposition has actually shown the initiative and tried to understand the perspectives better than the Government has. We have settled down in the Pacific way and we have treated with those on the ground who feel the human struggle. We never negotiated any foreign policy achievements and no deals were made. We simply wanted to understand to motivate our own votes and to motivate our votes. We wanted them to hear the perspective of onlookers and those who want to act as the neutral ground for the two sides. The Government has tried to deny that of us and has instead completely failed to handle this situation in a clear manner.

Furthermore, when pressed by myself through my staffers on Twitter, the Government actually fell back and began to call us incompetent and foolish and we even had accusations of racism thrown at us. I find it truly ironic to see the white champagne socialists of Labour throw the racism accusation at me when I’ve done nothing but state the phrase “Real New Zealanders” which they have interpreted as racist. However, those same champagne socialists throw up their hands and cry foul when I call out their actions when they have called me the Member for Fiji. Using an opponents country of origin to imply I am somehow compromised by that is sort of implying I cannot be a fully naturalized or “real” New Zealander no? Would we accept former Labour leader Laichar being called the member for Hong Kong or former ACT leader Mattsthetic being called member for Seoul if they happened to agree with their birth country on a particular issue? We would not and I immediately call upon the Prime Minister to disavow the racism of their coalition partners and work to root that out of their Government.

This is a major trying moment in our history and the Opposition has the solutions to help mend and solve this issue.

At the directive of stranger195, the Leader of the Opposition, we are urging the Government to sit down in the Pacific way with Fijian and Tongan officials alike and urge that any claims and settlements are taken through the United Nations and fully argued on the basis of the UN Convention of the Sea. That is a method which we hope will bring peace to the area.

Furthermore, we urge the Prime Minister to take Opposition advice and offer New Zealand ships as a temporary defense force for the area and for both sides to withdraw their ships. We would invite the Prime Minister to then offer to allow for fishing from local communities of both Tonga and Fiji under this temporary arrangement and to allow for both sides to utilize the natural resources of the reefs while the full ownership of it is being discussed. We further urge a direct measure to monitor the amount of fishing which is occurring within the reef is monitored to ensure that no side is trying to depopulate the fishing zone out of spite.

These solutions are solutions we in the Opposition think will work and we urge the Prime Minister to take that directive and this advice to advance Pacific interests and to prevent further young Fijian and Tongan men being sent home in coffins.

Gregor_The_Beggar, Deputy Leader of the Opposition

The Government’s agenda to pass a crucial piece of legislation which they supported, titled the Student Loan (First Home Repayment) Amendment Bill, has failed to pass Parliament and shows a massive failure on the part of this Government to deliver on some of their basic promises.

The Government has revealed a lot of reforms aimed to win over the student voting block, including the absolutely insane proposal of spending $16 billion dollars in a complete bailout of student loan debt. Therefore, it’s surprising that the Government cannot even rally the votes or support to pass a key part of the legislative framework they offered to try and ‘fix’ the tertiary education system.

This shows an innate failure on the part of the Government to act and represents a slowing down of a Government supposedly geared towards change and progress. For a revolutionary Government, their means of achieving that revolution seems to be diminishing.

Let us all hope then that the Kiwi Party and other parties of common sense rally instead behind the Liberal Party banner and that the people of New Zealand place their trust in the Liberal Party of New Zealand completely. For a party which can actually deliver on their promises, a single vote seems like a small payment.

Gregor_The_Beggar, Deputy Leader of the Opposition

In the past few years we’ve seen the rise of misinformation or fake news impact the democratic process across the world and in certain cases hamper the creation of herd immunity that acts to protect those with compromised immune systems. I thought that New Zealand itself was rather resistant to the rise of this misinformation, however, in recent days we have seen articles from members of the Liberal Party that promote misinformation in regards to the affairs of the government.

– Prime Minister ARichTeaBiscuit

Once again, we see this government failing the people of New Zealand, in this case the demeaning of the opposition. Contrary to what the Prime Minister has said, what the Liberal Party is doing is not comparable to the anti-vaxxer movement. That cannot be farther from the truth. I find it laughable that a Prime Minister of a democratic country is demeaning the opposition simply for holding the government to account. Although the Prime Minister here is holding themselves as a bastion of the truth against the anti-vaxxer con-men, it is more akin to a President Trump demeaning any criticism against him as “fake news.”

It should alarm everyone that a Prime Minister of New Zealand is doing this. It was not a rogue MP who insinuated this but it was the Prime Minister of our country. Although the Prime Minister is demeaning the opposition as people spreading misinformation, for myself this only strengthens my commitment to oppose this government for the betterment of all Kiwis. If a government is attacking the press simply for asking questions, that is not a government I wish to be a part of.

A country such as New Zealand thrives on the existence of a media that is able to hold the government to account. If the Liberal Party is in such a position of government once again, I will whole heartily welcome criticism from the other side.

However, we see that the Government is not willing to hold up to this. Rather than just simply answer the concerns that many Kiwis have, they attack the publication holding them to account and label it fake news that is just as harmful as anti-vaxxers.

This is a concern for our democracy and I hope all Kiwis join me in my concern for such a government using such tactics to silence the opposition as “fake news.”

Lady_Aya, MP for Wellington

The Government has recently passed the Minimum Wage (Flexible Minimum Wage) Amendment Act 2020 into law with the support of the Kiwi Party and has challenged New Zealand job growth and expansion into the immediate future.

The new legislation takes the power of minimum wage out of the hands of Parliament and into the hands of the Head of State bringing our Governor-General into a new state of political partisanship and disrepute. Furthermore, the bill continues to strengthen the New Zealand executive to set minimum wage rates and allows for an unaccountable Government to wildly set the minimum wage to whatever level they so desire. This is without the consent of Parliament nor without the thorough select committee process which opens every decision up to public and professional scrutiny. While I trust the Government will do the right thing and consult stakeholders on any changes to the minimum wage, like a Liberal Government would almost certainly do, the opportunity for the Cabinet to have such an important power over the New Zealand workforce on their own whim seems far too powerful.

Furthermore, the policy will likely lead to the Government implementing their policies surrounding the minimum wage. The Government plans to raise the minimum wage to an extraordinary $21.15 meaning someone on the minimum wage will be taking home $43,000 dollars a year. Countdown with their 18,000+ employees will therefore be spending an estimate of $774,000,000 on their labour by our estimates. Suddenly, the job of a trolley boy seems unworthy of a $43,000 dollar wage. The added cost of labour would single-handedly invalidate Countdown’s last yearly profit of $296,000,000 dollars three-fold and lead to massive reductions in staff

This will be harming New Zealand business immensely as the cost of labour will reach unsustainable levels at the bare minimum. We will be seeing cost cutting measures on essential services and we will further be seeing job growth be slowed and stalled by the immense costs the Government proposes to implement on business. When the entire profit margins of a company are being threatened by the immense increase in the cost of labour, we will see the price of goods raise accordingly to match with these additional costs. This is an example of how this will be compounding inflation and pushing costs onto the consumers of this nation.

For a Government which has been so opposed to GST and sin taxes, this massive proposed raise in the minimum wage seems to be the number one cause of prices going up.

Gregor The Beggar, Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

The Government has once again failed the people of New Zealand and has forsaken their flagship foreign policy objective as we see that New Zealand soldiers haven’t been immediately withdrawn from Iraq like they were promised.

We are more than halfway through the term of the Government, so many may not remember the bountiful smiles and pats on the back all around the cabinet as they made a firm election commitment to withdraw New Zealand defense force soldiers from Iraq using the term “immediately”

This was the first policy of the Government and was supposedly the first thing they considered the moment they sat down around that cabinet table in Wellington.

“• Fast-forward withdraw from Iraq given recent escalations”

Alliance Coalition Agreement

Clear as daylight, the Government has made Iraq a priority and has supported many motions and reforms around Iraq and our defense force.

The Prime Minister released a statement a while ago surrounding their plea for Iraq to regulate and prevent the use of live ammunition on protestors.

The Government joined together with the Kiwi Party to condemn American war crimes.

How come the Government has therefore failed to deliver on this policy which they talked up throughout the first few weeks of their term? Did they think New Zealand would just forget their promises and they can sweep the harsh reality of their promises results under the rug?

The failure of the Government to deliver on Iraq and on this issue isn’t a matter of policy differences, this is a matter of Government principle and the principle the Government should deliver on the promises they gave to New Zealanders who gave their vote in turn to elect them. Will they fail to deliver on anything else or will they rush through shoddily-made reforms which will end up damaging New Zealand more than helping it?

Historical trend always show they do both and end up leaving us to clean up the mess.

Gregor_The_Beggar, Deputy Leader of the Opposition

The Green Party Minister for Housing and Infrastructure has recently come out with shocking announcements in line with their coalition agreement which will be a direct attack on landowners and renters. These reforms come at little explanation, though some might theorize they come to reverse any good effects of the National-ACT Governments.

In Parliament, I asked the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure about the Government’s plan to help private sector housing development. In response, I got a response which brings into question the legitimacy of the Green Government’s “left-wing” credentials and questions their integrity in promising to protect the average Kiwi.

” My main priority for now is to tackle the gaps where the private housing market falls shot. This will include the rapid building of new state homes, reviewing and potentially replacing rent to buy, reversing previous anti renter policy, roll back reforms to the public works act, and tackle the issue of vacant lock and leave properties.”

jgm0228, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure

Clear as daylight, the Government seeks to roll back progressive schemes like rent to buy and ACT Party reforms to the Public Works Act which will be harming our landowners and renters.

Rent to Buy Schemes allow for New Zealand renters to contribute their money to the cause of eventual ownership of a property rather than the sole profit of their landlord. Even better, such schemes usually come with assistance from the Government and are commonly done in tandem with state housing programs. For the Greens to oppose the concept of rent to own shows that they do not wish to have commitments from individuals to their own housing accommodation with the aim of eventually owning one. Reform of the system for state housing to match a rate aside from the market one could be a logical step but steps to replace Rent to Buy just seems a silly step in the wrong direction. Furthermore, their policy would invalidate the massive contributions individuals have already made into these schemes and practically make their spending useless. ACT encourages Kiwis to own their own home and to contribute fairly to the costs of that housing and we will stand by Rent to Buy schemes at all levels. For a party for renters, this will be seen as a massive betrayal.

Furthermore, the Green Government has chosen to oppose ACT Party reforms to the Public Works Act. These reforms allowed for New Zealanders and Councils to get adequate notice and compensation for their land under the unfortunate reality of Public Works Act seizures. The promise to revoke such reforms means that we will see less compensation going to those who have had their land seized and we will continue to see pittances being paid for the immense emotional and economic damage done from a seizure of land. Furthermore, the Government intends to give people no time to move and settle into a new life once their programs begin and instead seem to want those people quickly moved along so they can begin their own schemes with the land. Their opposition to these reforms is a heartless act against landowners and the opposition will proudly stand against such measures.

As we can see, the Green Government seems to already be dropping the ball on housing and seems to be faltering in their commitments to New Zealand families. I hope that all New Zealanders of a right mind will stand against these policies and continue to support and elect strong, center-right individuals to deliver on Housing and Infrastructure areas which really matter.

Gregor The Beggar, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Spokesperson for Housing and Infrastructure