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newsletter #28 for Sunday, May 28th, 2023

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Tamihere supports political aspirations from government funded charities

Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere has received nearly $470,000 in loans from two Māori charities he heads. After an investigation by Charities Services, one of the charities has agreed Tamihere has to repay the money. Tamihere says the investigations are racist, but other charities have been deregistered for doing far less.

Freedom camping further restricted

Thousands of vehicles could soon be excluded from self-contained vehicle areas. Freedom is not going to be free. The National Party is against the bill, saying it unfairly punishes many responsible freedom campers.

Education update May 2023

Teachers’ strikes have been suspended to allow negotiations. There is a debate about why educational results are deteriorating. National’s plan is to “Teach the Basics Brilliantly”. ACT is in agreement. Labour wants to integrate Māori knowledge and the Treaty into all areas of education.

Another budget

The government will spend nearly $5 billion more (than last year) of taxpayers’ dollars. They are spending 33% of GDP, up from 27% when they first came to power. It has a few unexpected goodies, but it is reasonably restrained for an election year. Not everyone is happy, the National Party is now showing an increase in the polls, and critics claim the budget will worsen inflation.

Some roads may not qualify for a WOF

A 2020 report identified roads that cannot withstand bad weather. NIWA data is not clear that extreme weather is any worse than it used to be. The thing about true 100 year weather: It is rare and crazy expensive to build everything to withstand it.

Kiwis support a “wealth” tax, but what does that mean?

A recent poll by Newshub suggests a majority of Kiwis want a wealth tax. Same old story, the poll doesn’t clarify what these people actually support. Is it a comprehensive wealth tax, including the administrative nightmare, or just more tax on the rich? Do they understand wealthy people create economic activity and don’t add costs, so many countries have tax incentives to attract them?

The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity.

-Amelia Earhart

NZ News Essentials Ltd.

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