Free Press 16/13/2015

ACT’s new regular bulletin

A Good Keen Man
Robin Grieve continues to get rave reviews around Northland. He has the best one-liners of any candidate. Free Press followed him around Mangawhai on Sunday where he pointed out that shooting oneself in the foot would not send much of a message. We understand loyal ACT voters may vote strategically for the National candidate, but Robin’s campaign shows ACT is strong.

Resource Management or Revenue Gathering?
Radio New Zealand reports on an Ashburton farmer fined $10,000 for removing thorny Matagouri bushes from his land without council permission. Matagouri is hardly threatened and is considered a nuisance by many farmers. Why this madness? Perhaps it is because, by applying the Resource Management Act in this way, the local council has generated revenue from this minor slip-up. Is it any wonder council bureaucrats rarely voice support for RMA reform?

Green Chaos
When Richard Prebble stepped down as ACT leader, four out of eight caucus members stood to replace him. Chris Trotter said at the time this was symbolic of ACT’s hyper individualism and disunity. Three out of six male Green MPs now think they would be the best co-leader, with another challenger from outside caucus.

Green Party X Factor
Last week the Reserve Bank delivered its March 2015 Monetary Policy Statement, leaving the cash rate (the OCR) at 3.5%. It was big news. During The Nation’s panel on TV3 over the weekend, one of the Green Party co-leadership candidates was asked what the OCR was. He hazarded a guess of 7.8%. Oh well, maybe this level of complacency about the central bank shows the Bank is doing a good job.

Independent Central Banks are Important
You really notice central banks when the politicians take them over. Remember Zimbabwe’s hyper-inflation? Eventually the locals started using US and South African currency. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is now buying back and cancelling the old currency, as it establishes a new currency pegged to the US dollar. According to its recent monetary policy statement the RBZ will be demonetizing old banknotes at a rate of Z$35 quadrillion to US$1. The highest denomination note ever printed by the RBZ is the $100 trillion note, now worth US$0.03.

More Green X Factor
Part of the job description for an MP, you would think, is keeping up with the general macro trends in New Zealand – and this is all the more important for those who fancy themselves leadership material. On The Nation’s panel one MP was asked the growth rate of the economy, answering 0.25%. A miserable quarter of a percent! Trying to talk the economy down maybe? A guess of around 3% would have been reasonable. Another Green MP took a stab at the inflation rate, suggesting 2%, rather than the recent actual annual rate of 0.8%. There were other amusing moments from The Nation’s panel we could mention – but we don’t do bullying on our show.

Tweets
One of the finest tweets during The Nation's panel performance was this from @kominsens: “When it comes to stats and measurement the Greens will use the 500 year old Kauri formula”. Who needs accuracy when some numbers just sound good?

The Real Problem
Free Press recently saw the real difficulty that the Greens have, up close. When the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee interrogated Transpower representatives, nearly all committee members took part in a sophisticated discussion about the future of the industry. Once upon a time the Green member might have been the only one talking about solar panels, smart meters, distributed generation, electric cars, and so on but these are now mainstream issues. If anything the Green member who, like her colleagues, is elected by an efficient campaigning machine more than personal merit, was a slouch in the discussion. Without a clear and uniting raison d’etre, it is every man for himself. Free Press predicts a turbulent term and further decline in the Greens’ vote share.

Good News
The latest ERO reports on Partnership Schools have been published… and they are excellent. Critics of the schools put huge resources into making sure the media highlight every minor problem when in reality these schools are doing wonderful things for students who need this education choice. Free Press won’t let the positive stories fall through the cracks. Let’s celebrate these brave education innovators.

Freedom is not free

If it were legal, ACT Leader David Seymour would sell blood to fundraise for ACT. All you need is a credit card.

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