New Zealand Conservative

Well, we didn't hear anything about it in the mainstream media; it was swept under the rug. I'm sure the major parties wish it would go away. What happened Wednesday night?? John Boscawen put forward a bill, sponsored by David Garrett - both of them Act MPs, that would have allowed a light smack for purposes of correcting children. The bill was defeated 115 votes to five. Only the ACT MPs voted for it. The win was accompanied by the usual drivel spouted by no-nothing liberal MPs about "pro smackers" and "child beaters". Current Green co-leader Metiria Turei on Twitter wrote, "David Garrett's child beating bill (went down in flames)". ‘It is time the pro-hitting lobby accepts that their point of view is unacceptable today and will never again be enshrined in New Zealand legislation," wrote Deborah Morris-Travers of Every Child Counts. Where do they get these idiot women from? Don't they realize the harm they are doing to this country...

National have introduced a new tax 3 months ahead of the proposed GST tax increase. Sure, there will be a PAYE Tax reduction in three months time, but by then the new ETS will have pushed the general cost of energy and goods up and we will be feeling the bite from increases in property taxes (rates) at well above CPI. How high can the GST go, even as other taxes kick in? The UK will be moving from 17.5% to 20% soon. This is done with the promise of offsetting other tax rates, but keep your eye on new taxes, and don't be surprised when they all creep up again as government spending continues unabated. When cuts are made in one area, you can be sure they are spending in yet another. It's a tornado of taxes, spiraling higher and faster leaving only destruction in its wake. There are taxes on our freedoms too.

Yep, Hone is at it again as a news story on Stuff reports on remarks he made this weekend - Hone Harawira says white New Zealanders reacted badly to his controversial "white mother....ers" remark because they don't like "looking at themselves in the mirror". "Last year I made the statement that white so-and-sos have been raping our lands and ripping us off and everyone hated me. All I was doing was holding up a mirror to New Zealand." When are the Maori party going to do something about this guy? Surely they can't let him keep spouting off this racist nonsense. I know they censured him for the end of last year, but he's started off the New Year with the same old rubbish!

I went down to the train station again the other day; I hadn't been there since I finished my course in June, but I was in the area and went to say hi one of the guards there I got to know a bit. I see now that the 'Park'n'Ride' parking which was previously free is now costing $2 a day and they've had the parking meters there for two weeks Sure, $2 a day doesn't sound that much, but for a student taking the train five days a week like I was, that's an extra $10 a week on top of your ticket costs. It all adds up; I'm glad I've finished. So, thanks Auckland City; that sure is Super...

What is in the water? The recent boxing match between Tua and Cameron have brought out comments from all degrees of the political spectrum railing against contact sports, and in particular boxing. Some of these comments spring forth from the blogs of commenters I like and respect, so I respectfully offer a counter-argument. Some want to redefine sport to exclude the martial arts, others link boxing to the sideline raves of the spectators , who can get more carried away than the participants. I worry the underlying theme of denigrating the physical brutality that accompanies such sports is an idea absorbed by the osmotic pressure of living in liberal left societies . Some ideas are like cancers, creeping in and corrupting a cell at a time until the damage is noticed, and then perhaps it is all too late. The liberal left promise to end all forms of "violence", from a smack in discipline, to the brutality of rugby and the barbarism of boxing. All sorts of justifications ari...

At the most basic level, free trade has done much for civilizations. It gives people a reason to work towards peace rather than war. Free trade provides opportunity and with opportunity flows prosperity. Governments regulate free trade so they can take a cut on the value of the trade and ensure reasonable standards (minimise unethical behaviour and prevent collateral damage). Those reasons are, in moderation, right and proper. Sometimes though governments interfere with trade simply because they are driven by other ideologies. Ones that do not connect trade with prosperity, but simply sees trade as unfair transfers of wealth on the backs of underpaid labour and incorrectly priced resources. Rather than looking at the terms of the trade though, some come to see trade itself as the great evil. Anyway, no time to go on a rant down that particular path. Carbon "Trading" is really just carbon taxing, a new way for government to overly command and control what helps Natio...