Entry 2442, on 2026-05-17 at 12:53:28 (Rating 4, Politics)
The main party in New Zealand's current government has not enjoyed a great deal of popularity recently, and its leader has also had very limited support. I can see why. The National Party is supposed to be a conservative party, both socially and economically, but it really hasn't fulfilled that role. In addition, the leader, Christopher Luxon, has been rather timid in his interactions with media, making him look both weak and unprincipled.
But maybe that is changing. There were several new policy directions announced recently which seem to indicate that this center-right government might be finally going to do what their voters wanted all along.
Before I discuss these, I have to say that while I wish the National Party success (mainly because the alternative is so terrible, not because the Nats are any good themselves), I am not a conservative myself and don't vote for them.
Also, these changes might not really get the result I would want, because of two things. First, finally doing what they should have done all along about 6 months before an election quite rightly makes people a little bit suspicious of their motives. And second, the types of changes seem to be initiated by, or borrowed from, the coalition partners, Act and New Zealand First, so if National does get increased support, a lot of it would come from their partners rather than their opposition.
So what are these changes?
First, they are abolishing the Broadcast Standard Authority. This organisation is particularly woke and biased, and also seems to want to exceed the limits of its original purpose. For the sake of free speech I think it is important that it goes.
I guess it might have been possible to retain it, and either try to force it to act more fairly, or maybe replace some of the senior staff, but just shutting it down seems cleaner and a more certain way to eliminate the problems we currently have.
Second, the government seem to be more prepared to stand up to the media and call them out for their more outrageous bias, their inane questions, and other frivolous nonsense they are likely to engage in.
It's no secret that I have become increasingly frustrated with the media in recent years so I am happy to see them being dealt with a bit more "vigorously', especially by David Seymour, Winston Peters (who, I admit, never held back in the past) and even Christopher Luxon, who in the past seemed to want to avoid conflict at all costs.
The media don't have the power they used to, because so few people now engage with them as a significant source of news, and even fewer use them as their only source. The more they act this way, the more they fail, and they have no one to blame except themselves. I don't want to see the mainstream media shut down completely, but I do want to see them being challenged on their woke nonsense.
Third, recently the government shut down a legal right to sue corporations and organisations for their "climate harm". I must admit, I don't know the details about this, so I can't discuss it in detail, but it is a good sign that the more extreme climate activism might be starting to diminish.
We still need to be aware of the problems associated with climate change, but in a rational way, not through mindless hysteria and activism.
Fourth, the previous government offered university students a free first year of study, which was changed to a free last year (to complete a degree) by the current government, and has now been abolished completely.
When we see the word "free" we should be immediately concerned, because nothing is free. All the free scheme did was take money from hard working New Zealanders and hand it out to worthless parasites doing nothing useful for the country. OK, I've got to admit, that was too harsh. There are still a few university graduates who go on to do useful things for society, but they tend to get paid well when they do, so why do they need a handout?
And finally, we have the issue which has become symbolic of the divide between the major groups in politics: immigration (yes, I know there is also the trans thing, but I'm avoiding that one in this post!).
The government has tightened immigration laws to try to ensure we will get people who more closely align with our values (whatever they are) and are more likely to provide a net benefit to us. This seems fair and reasonable. Why woud we want to follow the lead of other countries and allow people in who are not only useless, but are specifically opposed to "Western values".
By the way, here are some of those values I think many people from other cultures might not fully embrace: freedom to practice any religion, or be free from one; giving every member of society equal rights (there are exceptions based on age, etc, but the overall idea is solid); making a genuine effort to assimilate into existing modes of living, or at least accepting those norms. And yes, you know which culture I'm talking about, don't you!
Anyway, those are a few signs that the right here in New Zealand has seen what is happening overseas (especially in the UK and Australia) and realised that many of us are ready to go back to more sensible and moderate policies. And yes, it's yet another sign of the impending end of woke! Is this progress, at last?
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