Your Key Political Summary - PLUS: Luxon Defends Andrew Bayly in Parliament
1/ Proposed gun firearms law change will endanger public
A director of the Firearms Safety Authority says separating the Firearms Safety Authority from police - as the government is proposing - will be "horrible" and raise the risk to the public
Note: ACT Party Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee is a gun lobbyist, who remains in contact with the Council of Licenced Firearms Owner and shared disparaging messages about police to them.
2 months ago, PM “high standards” Luxon sided with the Minister over police after the Police Association complained that Nicole McKee sidelined their request for input -
2/ 3 Strikes Law Change: Government ignored feedback from nearly all experts.
Sided with “Sensible Sentencing Trust” submissions - whose campaign is run by Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers Union
Yesterday, The Standard reported the government changed the 3 Strikes law to include lesser offences. The author wrote:
“The [old system] sifted out unusual offending which although serious, did not justify a heavy sentence. Two 18 year olds taking someone’s hat by force is an example.”
The Standard also revealed that a large portion were template submissions from “SST”.
Today, RNZ confirms this analysis and this is all very significant on 3 levels:
ONE: The tactic of saying there is widespread support - while running campaigns by affiliated political pressure groups - is likely how David Seymour will run his Treaty Principles Bill argument.
And this is why we see people like Chris Trotter suggest that not supporting Seymour’s bill is akin to being anti-democratic.
In this case, Luxon gave public interviews to justify the 3 Strikes Law change, saying -
“The public played back very strongly to the government they wanted the bill and the act and the law to be tougher and harder...
“So that’s a good example I think where Parliament and the people working together have got to a better outcome…"
i.e. He relies on most Kiwis being unaware of the intricacies and uses a one sided story to justify his government’s actions - ignoring the army of experts submissions - including from the Law Society of NZ here.
This is a very dangerous precedent and pushes NZ further along the precipice of being anti-expert, anti-research and anti-evidence.
TWO: Jordan Williams told Atlas Network in 2023 that after the right wing government wins, Taxpayers Union would be at the forefront to formulate government policies.
i.e. Groups like this are playing at the back and front end
THREE: Taxpayers Union is an apparatus of the National Party and ACT in drag (source) so it’s hard not to see how they are not creating campaigns as cover for the government to do exactly as they want.
i.e. It feels to me like NZ is being punked.
3/ Wellington not the only council facing water cost woes - There’s been a lot of criticism of the central government intervening once again in local matters (Remember: localism matters, folks, as long as you kiss the ring) but one Mayor points out many councils will be in the same position at some point.
Note: What I find interesting among all this chatter is how few journalists and commentators have drawn the link between this government repealing 3 Waters and the inevitable hyper-escalation of rates.
Kieran McAnulty has been warning about this for months saying the 3 Waters repeal will lead to drastically higher rates and the burden will go onto ratepayers - yet it’s all fallen on deaf ears?
“Councils can’t do this by themselves, but this is exactly where the Government has left them – without any support.
"The current law would save households thousands each year, and National have yet again shown they don’t have any plan at all to ensure Kiwis have safe and affordable water in the long term.
Likewise, Local Government NZ raised the alarm last year too yet it went unheeded by this government and major commentators.
What is clear to me is councils are fundamentally cowered by the sheer force and political power of this coalition government which is shielded by multiple media mouthpieces - but it’s still disappointing how few people have drawn that bow.
Here’s what other cities are facing in rates increases (courtesy Hubris2):
Hamilton - 19.9%
Wellington - 16.4%
Whangārei - 17.2%
Dunedin - 17.5%
Napier - 23.7%
Ōpōtiki - 10.5%
Many of these reported increases are record increases, and all of them are considerably higher than inflation.
4/ Yesterday, the government stopped Otago Regional Council (and any other council) from establishing higher water standards and “tougher environmental rules”
It will pass this legislation retroactively - to ensure