Free Press - 27/10/15: RWC, Three Strikes
Free Press
ACT’s regular bulletin
Kerre McIvor Weighs in on RWC
Bill
Remember when letting pubs open for the
Rugby World Cup was going to destroy society, especially in
poor rural areas like Opononi? Kerre reports: “The
husband and I joined a group of about 60 at the Opononi pub.
All ages were there and women outnumbered men. The only
suggestion of riotous behaviour was when a group of nanas
sitting at a table showed vocal appreciation as Sonny Bill
ran on to the field.”
Freedom 1 Naysayers
0
Kerre’s whole column is a good read.
The most enduring outcome of opening pubs for the RWC will
be a gentle reminder to the naysayers in future debates:
Kiwis are overwhelmingly responsible people who can handle a
drink whilst watching the rugby. We should not have to
justify our freedoms – the government should have to
justify restricting them.
Celebrate the Upcoming
AB Victory (and the freedom to do so)
Lacking a
convenient excuse to study charter schools in London this
weekend, David Seymour is hosting a Champagne Breakfast to
cheer on the All Blacks from Mt Eden. If you’d like to
watch the game in good company, bubbles in hand, register
fast as places are restricted to exactly two rugby teams of
people (not counting reserves). Register here.
Time to Index
Tax Thresholds to Inflation
Rob Hosking has a
great piece in the NBR suggesting the budget surplus is a
good time to index tax thresholds to inflation. He points
out that indexation would prevent the Muldoons and Cullens
of the world stealthily taking more and more of taxpayers’
money. It happens because inflation increases nominal wages
but not what can be bought with them, so people stealthily
move into higher tax brackets.
There’s No Limit
to What you Can Achieve….
…if you don’t
care who takes the credit. Hosking’s right. ACT has
identified that the average family has lost $1036 in the
past five years due to this phenomenon. The current era of
low inflation is the perfect time to start indexation
because it would have little immediate impact, but restrain
future governments when inflation resumes. Here is David Seymour raising the question
with Bill English back in February.
A Curious
Valedictory
Russel Norman gave a curious
valedictory where he said: equality before the law is
important; civil society groups are important for protecting
the environment, and; while there are finite physical
resources, there’s no limit to what humans can do with
them. We wondered why he’s spent all these years
advocating bigger government bureaucracies to regulate and
run everything. As is so often with the left, they know
government is inefficient, they just think it’d be better
if they were running it.
Three Strikes a
Success
Five years after the introduction of
ACT’s Three Strikes law for violent offenders, statistics
are emerging to show the policy has been a double success.
It has deterred offending, without the kind of excessive
incarceration that naysayers
prophesised.
Deterring Offenders
Most
offending is declining but one type of offence is declining
faster than others: offences by those who have had a first
strike warning. From 2005-2010, 3.8 per cent of violent
offenders (those who would have received a first strike
warning) reoffended. Over the past five years since Three
Strikes (2010-2015), offenders have received a strike
warning after their first offence and only 1.5 per cent have
reoffended. In real numbers, that means 123 fewer victims
of serious violent crimes over the last five
years.
Most of Population not in
Jail
At the time, hysterical opponents thought
that Three Strikes would lead to a Californian situation
where everybody who stole a pizza would be in jail for life.
In reality ACT’s Three Strikes law is narrowly targeted at
violent and sexual offenders, meaning that nobody is on
track to get life for pizza theft or any other light crime
because the law does not allow it. Here is David raising the question with the
Minister of Justice last week.
The Crusty Cake
Tin
With the entry of David Seymour’s End of
Life Choice Bill into the ballot, Free Press has been
pondering the ballot process. We understand that important
laws such as Marriage Equality begin life as private
members’ Bills when a token is pulled from a crusty old
cake tin. With all the concerns about youth political
apathy, Free Press has a modest proposal to enrich
our democracy.
The Schoolchildren’s Ballot
Ceremony
Parliamentary processes evolve over
time. Free Press observes that school children visit
the capital and question time every sitting day. It would
be a simple innovation for a pupil to pick the token from
the ballot on the floor of the House. It would draw
attention to this part of Parliamentary process and add to
the children’s experience, for a mere minute of
Parliamentary time every second sitting week. A far better
use of time than many MPs’ speeches.
Is Annette
King a Good Wine?
It’s difficult to dislike
Annette King. She is hard working and comes to the House
with a sense of fun. She was also a member of the Fourth
Labour Government and is only three years younger than
Winston Peters. By keeping her on as deputy leader, Labour
are effectively saying that after an incubation of 33 years,
her time will come in 2017.
An Alternative
Hypothesis
An MP who steadily improves over 33
years to become deputy Prime Minister (Bill English took 18,
Helen Clark eight) is a great story, but is there a better
explanation? Andrew Little claims Jacinda Ardern didn’t
want the Deputy Leader’s job, and we should probably
believe him. King is actually staying on because Ardern has
given Little a massive vote of no
confidence.
Underestimate Ardern at Your
Peril
Many figures on the right believe Ardern
is a flake. She has never landed hits on Ministers in the
House, the story goes, so she fundamentally doesn’t have
it. Free Press has watched Ardern closely and
believes it is foolish to underestimate her. She connects
in a way few politicians can, and that cannot be taught.
Justin Trudeau wasn’t even the official opposition leader
until he became Prime Minister last week.
Davis
Still the Real Deal
Free Press has not
forgotten Kelvin Davis. We still believe he is the most
effective Labour Leader. He has the gravitas to confront
John Key, and he is prepared to take initiative and think
outside the box, as demonstrated by his trips to Australian
detention facilities. With Grant Robertson’s ongoing
misfires, we hope for the sake of Parliamentary democracy
that Labour will install Davis/Ardern,
quickly.
Good Public Policy
The
opposition got het up wanting to ban so called facilitation
payments to government officials abroad. Everybody wants to
end corruption but good public policy is about results not
intentions. The New Zealand Government cannot enforce
whether a fee demanded by an official in an unfamiliar
country was strictly legal in that country but they can
shower Kiwi business with extra layers of bureaucracy. Here is David Seymour shooting the Bill down
in the House.
Sick of Hearing about David
Seymour?
Paul Henry wondered aloud last week why
David Seymour and ACT get massively disproportionate
attention for a single MP party. Free Press sources
say even David gets a little fatigued with it from time to
time. Thankfully there is a way you can help. Join or donate to help rebuild ACT. We want to
come back with five MPs in
2017.