Whacky reactions to proposed legislation extinguishing crazy climate Court cases On Tuesday 12 May, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced a legislative reform to stop New Zealand Courts forcing “greenhouse gas”-producing businesses to compensate New Zealanders for damage from bad weather. The yet-to-be-drafted legislation will amend New Zealand’s Climate Change Response Act 2002. The legislation will have the particular effect of extinguishing current Court action by a race hustler with a...

Christopher Luxon gave last week his most substantive speech as Prime Minister. Apparently, he wrote it himself. Prime Ministers are usually too busy to write their own speeches. Their speeches are stitched together by advisers and shaped by polling and focus groups. Luxon attempted something much harder. He set out a worldview and an agenda for the country. In doing so, he is reorienting National away from merely promising better management. The speech was about security. “New Zealand stands...

After Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939 there was an eight-month period in which there were a few brief skirmishes but very little significant fighting on land. The standoff in Western Europe was dubbed the “Phoney War”, the “Bore War”, and the “sitzkrieg” (“the sitting war” — in contrast to the blitzkrieg inflicted on Poland). Military action was mainly carried out at sea until Hitler’s lightning invasion of Norway in April 1940 sparked serious hostilities. With New...