Author: Colin James

Rule by citizens: that ideal is what a leading Young New Zealand First man said drew him to be active in Winston Peters’ party.

This young man, like most of his expanding cohort in the party, is a university student, not a gullible yokel. He is completing a master’s degree.

On cue, New Zealand First passed a remit at its conference two weekends back that pushed for citizens’ initiated referendums (CIRs) to be binding, needing signatures from only 5% of the electorate to get it up (against 10% now) though requiring, on Peters’ intervention, a 66% yes vote to pass. read more

Phil Goff wants to pay Auckland Council employees at least the living wage. Is that moral or practical? Is it attacking capitalism or saving it?

Apple shuffles money around to evade tax, the European Union reminded us last week, demanding it pay the Irish government around $NZ20 billion. Is Apple stoking capitalism or sinking it? read more

The constitution — the rules governing who has power and how it is used — has been back in focus this month.

A plus was John Key’s speech at the official “launch” of the (two-year-old) “policy project”, a high-level programme to develop and test public service policy capability, skills, quality, collaboration (“collective ownership”) and leadership. read more

Three National ministers and an MP proclaimed in Parliament last Wednesday their “pride” in what their government has done on climate change. Really?

The cabinet’s proud record is an emissions trading scheme which exempted farmers and traded in crooked units from Russia and Ukraine plus tentative moves on transport and heating and research on animal methane. read more

Colin James’s Otago Daily Times column for 16 August 2016

Trouble at t’ mill! Teachers and Hekia Parata are in a standoff over “global funding”. But is something bigger in the air?

The teacher unions announced last week joint meetings in September to oppose “global funding”. They said that will disrupt some classes. Principals have since joined the chorus. read more

Winston Peters has banged on about immigration for close to a quarter-century. In the 1996 election it was his salient point of distinction, as Asian migrant numbers climbed.

His party got 13% and he got to be Deputy Prime Minister.

Immigration wasn’t Peters’ only line. He was pitching against market-liberal economics, soothing ageing survivors of Sir Robert Muldoon’s “Robsmob”. read more

Dorothy Adams, head of Bill English’s social investment unit, is from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), has a State Services Commission (SSC) email address and is quartered in the Treasury. Meet the new public sector.

Actually, most of the sector will remain in its various bunkers.

But another different bit is the proposed ministry for vulnerable children (as the New Zealand Herald labelled it last week). It is intended to be able, like the Accident Compensation Corporation, to buy the services it needs for its at-risk children. read more

Winston Peters has taken to saying low interest rates discourage savers. He might add: they hurt his primary constituency.

Peters and his ageing cohort will not be pleased if/when the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) cuts its official cash rate (OCR) again next week and later cuts again and, if offshore and onshore trends persist, again. That’s the inflation-targeting scripture and Graeme Wheeler is a priest. read more