Jacinda’s gushing letter begging for a free trade agreement with the EU has gone down well. Only a few days after reminding everyone that our soldiers died in combat alongside their European counterparts, the EU has voted to reduce New Zealand’s existing export rights… even though it would appear that it has no right to do this. quote.

The European Union’s parliament has taken a decisive step towards unilaterally reducing New Zealand’s rights to export specified quantities of tariff-free sheepmeat, beef and dairy products to the trading bloc if and when Brexit occurs.

The move has been slammed as “outrageous” by former trade negotiator Charles Finny in a Tweet and “disappointing” by the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the proposed moves risk compounding “growing international economic uncertainty and rising trade tensions”. end quote.

If it wasn’t so tragic for our agricultural exports, it would be funny. Jacinda wrote a letter only earlier this week begging for a trade deal, and brazenly told everyone on her return that the EU was falling over itself to do a deal with New Zealand. Once again, her inexperience and incompetence is showing. Brainstorming at Davos with billionaires doesn’t count. This is the real world. quote.

Another former diplomat and trade negotiator, the International Business Forum’s Stephen Jacobi, stressed the EU parliament’s adoption of a European Commission recommendation to reduce tariff rate quota access for a range of agricultural products from several countries was simply the latest step in a process that began in 2017.
At that time, both the EU and the UK indicated they wanted to change preferential market access which, in New Zealand’s case, was negotiated as compensation for Britain entering the then European Common Market in 1973. Sheepmeat is the most affected trade, although butter, cheese and beef access rights would also be trimmed.
“They haven’t implemented this and they won’t until Brexit takes place,” said Jacobi. “But the bigger picture is that it’s completely unacceptable for them to act like this. These quotas were negotiated and bought and paid for in the Uruguay Round (mid-1990s global trade agreement) and they cannot simply be adjusted at whim through a change in circumstance like this.

It is certainly not helpful for a free trade agreement with the EU, but exactly who did Jacinda think she was, expecting them to fall for the story of fighting wars side by side? In the world wars, New Zealand soldiers went to support Britain. They most certainly did not fight alongside Germany; they fought on the opposite side in both wars. How could Jacinda possibly be so stupid and naive?

Jacinda obviously thought this was going to be easy. Splash a bit of fairy dust around and everyone will fall at her feet. Well, it hasn’t happened this time. It seems her rising international profile doesn’t impress people in all circles.

DO talk about your cat ( until he gets run over by a car.)

DO talk about your pregnancy.

DO talk about your house.

DO talk about your boyfriend and almond milk

Do pimp your baby at every possible opportunity

Do as many photoshoots and magazine covers as you can

DO say as little as possible while letting Simon Bridges flail about making you look like a popular leader in comparison.

DON’T talk about Kiwibuild, Phil Twyford or Stephen Barclay

DON’T talk about Sroubek or Hardcore

DON’T Talk about the alcohol and sexual abuse at the Young Labour camp

DON’T talk about the minister who manhandled and bruised a staff member.

DON’T talk about the less than transparent minister who had to resign because you wouldn’t fire her.

DON’T talk about the Charter schools you closed down.

DON’T talk about the Oil and Gas industries that you destroyed with a Captain’s call.

DON’T talk about Venezuela

DON’T talk about the UN Migration Compact

Most importantly lie low and don’t show your face to avoid having to answer awkward questions.

Jacinda and the government have refused to recognise the interim government of Venezuela led by Juan Guaido. Instead, by default, she has put us once again at odds with our allies by effectively backing the government of Maduro… with all the misery it has wrought upon the Venezuelan people.

I thought Jacinda was a champion of human rights? Here she is, supporting a government that refuses to stand down while starving its own people. quote.

Last week, opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself Venezuela’s interim president in an intense acceleration of efforts to force out Nicolás Maduro, who has overseen the country fall into an economic crisis.
While Mr Guaidó quickly gained the support of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and even Australia, New Zealand has chosen not to take a side in the leadership debate, instead remaining neutral.  end quote.

It is not remaining neutral. It is backing a hard left socialist regime that is causing misery and deprivation to its people, as all such regimes inevitably do. quote

“It is not New Zealand’s practice to make statements of recognition of governments,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Monday.

“Venezuela needs to decide its future through free and fair elections. This Government expressed concerns about Venezuela’s elections in 2018, and these concerns remain.” end quote.

Venezuela has descended into chaos, and the current president has turned the armed forces against his own people. As a civilised country with a strong human rights record, we should not be condoning what is going on there. I am surprised at Winston being prepared to support such a regime. Then again, nothing surprises me about Winston these days. quote.

I am no more surprised at The Guardian showing support for our government’s disgraceful stand than I am by Jacinda continuing to back Maduro. The fact that Venezuelans are in crisis does nothing to change the mindsets of those on the left who want us all to live under similar regimes. The hypocrisy is sickening. quote.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern later justified her stance…
“What we do do as a country, and rightly so, is call out human rights abuses … it is absolutely clear that people are suffering under the current regime and that they deserve access to their democratic rights and freedoms.” end quote.

See what I mean about hypocrisy? We call out abuses of human rights, but continue to support a regime that takes them away from its own people?

We are in good company though… quote.

I’m so glad that we are in the company of countries that uphold the human rights of their citizens. quote.

In May last year Peters said he was “extremely concerned” about “the continuing erosion of democratic norms and institutions,” in the country following the presidential elections, including widespread reports of election irregularities and Nicolás Maduro’s banning of the main opposition leaders from participating in the poll.
At the time, Peters, who is also deputy prime minister, said New Zealand supported “any regional and international efforts to facilitate a national dialogue in Venezuela that would allow truly free and fair elections to be held”.

the guardian end quote.

So Winston expressed concerns about the last Venezuelan election. However, he still supports the regime that rigged that election?

This government hits new lows just about every day. Once again, we are at odds with our allies who are all countries that want to see an end to the suffering in Venezuela. Our government refuse to condemn a communist regime. That tells you all you need to know about the thinking of the people in our government.

Along with her friends at the United Nations, who usually don’t need any encouragement to speak out on human rights abuses across the world, Jacinda Ardern has not once mentioned or recognised the apartheid-like conditions in South Africa for white South Africans.

Australia has called out the horrific murders and land seizures and so has President Trump. But not our liberal, virtue signalling government, which usually loves the chance to take to the world stage and speak out for the minority. Unfortunately, Andrew Little has been too busy apologising for colonisation and how awful white Kiwis are.

The killings are reported to have been barbaric, with farm owners tortured, raped, burned alive and slaughtered in front of their families. Farm attack victims are usually restrained with shoelaces, telephone wires or electric cables, while some have had their nails pulled out, had boiling water poured over their bodies and been beaten to death with makeshift weapons.

This violence and torture can only be explained as racial hatred, and is actually encouraged with members of the government using the chant “Kill the Farmer, Kill the Boer” at campaign rallies.

 

Every few years a high profile incident will make international news, but what is taking place is beyond disgraceful and deserves to be called out at every opportunity. When President Trump tweeted out earlier this year following a fantastic and fearless report from Tucker Carlson on the issue, the mainstream media went wild.

FAR RIGHT CONSPIRACY, they yelled, ALT RIGHT, FAKE NEWS! All sort of names were blared out from the NYTimes, CNN, and even our very own NZ Herald.

Look at what is happening to Zimbabwe at the moment. The country once called the breadbasket of Africa is now known as the basketcase of Africa. Violent protests against record fuel prices have taken over the country. But it is very hard to have an ounce of sympathy for them. This is what the protesters wanted, remember; they drove out the white farmers because they wanted to govern the country themselves. They elected a corrupt and murderous President Mugabe, and when given the chance for a new direction, they elected one of his henchmen known as The Crocodile. How stupid can you honestly be? Look into the work of conservative commentator Stefan Molyneux; he absolutely nails this.

This is an issue which needs to stay in the media spotlight, or at least be brought up on occasion so people don’t forget that it hasn’t disappeared.  There are some excellent documentaries by Lauren Southern and Katie Hopkins on Youtube which expose this very well.

Jacinda Ardern’s flagship housing policy is in dire straits after the government admitted it won’t meet its target of building 1,000 affordable homes in its first year – and is set to fall short by 700.

New Zealand house prices are among the most unaffordable in the world, with Auckland the seventh most expensive city to buy a home, and all three major cities considered “severely unaffordable” by the latest Demographia international housing affordability survey.

In 2018 the Labour coalition government banned the sale of existing New Zealand homes to overseas buyers and launched its flagship KiwiBuild scheme; aiming to build 100,000 affordable homes in 10 years, with 1,000 of them scheduled for the first year.

But since July just 47 KiwiBuild homes have been completed – and housing minister Phil Twyford has said the government is unlikely to reach its target of 1,000 by June 2019 – putting the success of the project in jeopardy.

Last week the chief executive of KiwiBuild resigned following an employment dispute, in another blow for the scheme.

“In the first six months of the KiwiBuild programme it’s been tougher than expected to get the early numbers up … I think it’s going to be tough to meet that target,” Twyford told Radio NZ.

Twyford said it had been difficult to attract private developers to build smaller, more affordable homes, when they had previously focused on large and expensive construction projects.

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub agreed, saying the government should switch its attention to building rental properties instead.

Euqab said despite the urgency of the problem the government appeared to lack “ambition” in dealing with the severe lack of affordable housing.

“There is never a market for poor people, it is not profitable to build houses for poor people. That’s the challenge,” said Euqab.

Alain Bertaud, a former World Bank principal urban planner, said that despite New Zealand being an otherwise “exceptionally well-managed country” its housing market was in a state of crisis. He said the government’s efforts were being closely watched because they were broadly following global best practice in improving housing affordability.

The government’s measures would “take time” to implement and take effect, Bertaud said. “After the government has successfully passed these reforms, the international community will watch with great interest the impact it will have on Auckland … in the next few years,” Bertaud said in the report.

Many of the KiwiBuild homes already completed are languishing on the market, with many considering NZ$525,000 (£273,000) for a two-bedroom home far from affordable.

In Auckland and Queenstown – the two most expensive cities in New Zealand – KiwiBuild houses are capped at NZ$500,00 for a one-bedroom home, NZ$600,000 for a two-bed, and NZ$650,000 for three bedrooms or more.

The authors of the Demographia International Housing Affordability survey class a house as affordable if the median price is up to three times the median wage – making the government’s KiwiBuild houses “severely unaffordable” for most.

On Trade Me, New Zealand’s largest online auction website, some private home sales were being advertised as “cheaper than a KiwiBuild” and “much more affordable than KiwiBuild”.

The oppositions spokesperson for housing, Judith Collins, said it appeared that Kiwis didn’t want a KiwiBuild home, and the project was a failure.

“It’s incredibly embarrassing for the minister, who not only can’t reach his much-plugged target of 1,000 KiwiBuild homes, but the houses he has built are clearly not what first home buyers want,” said Collins.

“The minister’s blatant disregard for detail has been shown time and time again, and now he’s putting hardworking taxpayer money at risk because of it.”

Chris Trotter is a socialist, of the thinking kind. He does not follow the pack when it comes to left leaning policies. Chris really does believe in the politics of kindness which Jacinda campaigned upon. Now Chris is clearly quite disappointed. This government has not turned out the way he had hoped, and, to him, Jacinda is largely to blame for that. quote.

What’s become of the young woman who captivated the electorate sixteen short months ago? The Jacinda who promised New Zealanders a “transformational” government inspired by the politics of kindness. Where has she gone?

Surely the New Zealand Prime Minister who earlier this week pledged to stand by Britain: “Whatever you decide about your place in the global community”; cannot be the same woman who turned up to Buckingham Palace proudly wearing a Maori cloak?

Except, of course, it was New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who said those things. The very same Jacinda Ardern who’s been guilessly decorating the “loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires” who gather every year at the exclusive ski resort of Davos in the Swiss Alps. end quote.

Chris is not saying this outright, but Jacinda obviously revels in her celebrity status. She enjoys rubbing shoulders with the rich and the famous. It is enough to make a girl from Morrinsville quite dizzy. When it comes to doing the job she has been appointed to do, however, Jacinda is falling short, and Chris is rightly calling her out on that. quote.

What Jacinda has not considered is that, at some point, she will be measured on what she has done, rather than on what she talks about doing. That is when her star will fizzle on the horizon, leaving herself and her government in a smouldering heap. quote.

It is to be hoped that somewhere between all her high-powered forums and Davos’s swanky cocktail parties our prime minister is lucky enough to run into a wealthy venture capitalist by the name of Nick Hanauer.
Hanauer’s solution to global inequality is refreshingly straight-forward: “A fundamental prerequisite for a more just society is that the wealthiest should pay their fair share of tax.” end quote.

 

In this, Chris refers to the really wealthy, like Bono (an attendee at Davos), who lectures the world on poverty but who deliberately took up tax residency for his band in an overseas jurisdiction to reduce the taxes paid on its music. quote.

If only this clear-eyed billionaire could contrive to sit down with Jacinda and her Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, for a few minutes and explain this to them.
How sad that it has come to this. That a member of the 0.01 percent sees more clearly what must be done than the young woman who, just sixteen months ago, invited her fellow citizens to “Let’s do this!” How tragic that, sixteen months later, so few of those same citizens have the slightest idea what the “this” that she enjoined them to “do” actually is.

Jacinda still talks about ‘kindness’ and ‘wellbeing’ but Chris is right. Instead of improving the lives of the downtrodden, she has merely improved her own life by moving in the circles of billionaires and celebrities. She needs to remember what her true role really is. After all, her lifestyle with the rich and famous will come crashing around her ears once the government is out of power. That may be sooner than anyone expects, particularly Jacinda herself.