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Peter Dunne - Latest News [Page 16]
Dunne Speaks: All Aboard the Superannuation Merry-Go-Round
Thursday, 29 August 2019, 8:10 am | Peter Dunne
Crank up the pipe organ! The superannuation merry-go-round is starting up again. In 2014 Labour proposed lifting the age of entitlement to 67 years, but National was opposed to it. But in 2017, it was National wanting to lift the age to 67 years, ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: Independent scrutiny a good idea
Thursday, 22 August 2019, 8:35 am | Peter Dunne
At first glance, Simon Bridges’ strident opposition to the government’s proposal to establish an independent office to cost political parties’ election spending plans looks childish and petty. More >>
Dunne Speaks: A Better Way to Fund Medicines?
Thursday, 15 August 2019, 9:20 am | Peter Dunne
PHARMAC’s recent decision to fund two additional drugs from December this year has been widely welcomed by patients and the general public alike. The drugs, Kadcyla and Alecesana, are used in the treatment of advanced lung and breast cancers and will ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: It is all about him, after all
Thursday, 8 August 2019, 8:46 am | Peter Dunne
On that basis, it will be somewhat of a surprise if New Zealand First manages to survive the current three year term as part of the governing coalition. Staying the distance is simply not in the Party’s or its leader’s DNA. More >>
Dunne Speaks: Australia Snubs Prime Minister
Thursday, 1 August 2019, 9:24 am | Peter Dunne
Australia’s latest announcement that it intends to toughen its already strict deportation rules, with their likely impact on New Zealanders, is a slap in the face for the diplomacy of the Prime Minister. More >>
Dunne Speaks: Once more on Resource Management Roundabout
Friday, 26 July 2019, 8:38 am | Peter Dunne
We are pretty good in New Zealand at passing groundbreaking legislation through our Parliament and then leaving it to moulder until some govern-ment decides it is not working and should be radically changed. More >>
Dunne Speaks: Pity the Poor Greens
Thursday, 18 July 2019, 8:40 am | Peter Dunne
There used to be a school of thought on the centre right side of politics that the best way to neuter the Greens as a political force would be to let them have a spell in government. Then, according to the argument, they would show themselves to be ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: What to do about District Health Boards?
Friday, 12 July 2019, 8:34 am | Peter Dunne
What are we going to do about District Health Boards? News this week that the Government is looking at a further bail-out of cash-strapped Boards to help reduce their deficits has raised afresh questions about the sustainability of the current model. At a time ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: Time for National to Draw the Line on NZ First
Thursday, 4 July 2019, 8:27 am | Peter Dunne
A recent prominent National politician had the so-called Serenity Prayer penned by American philospoher, Reinhold Niebuhr, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: One More Change for the Speaker to Make
Thursday, 27 June 2019, 8:31 am | Peter Dunne
In a recent column I was very critical of the performance to date of the current Speaker of the House of Representatives whom I suggested was acting in a far more partisan manner than many recent Speakers, and behaving more like the bully boy that ... More >>
The Speaker who brought Parliament into Disrepute
Friday, 10 May 2019, 9:16 am | Peter Dunne
Parliament's current Speaker is turning the ancient and venerable institution on its head. Traditionally, the Speaker's role has been a rather conservative, sometimes passive, one to preside independently, without fear or favour over proceedings in ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: The Dilemma of Hate Speech
Wednesday, 1 May 2019, 11:54 am | Peter Dunne
In the wake of the Christchurch terrorism incident, specifically the publication on-line of the alleged killer’s so-called manifesto, the topic of hate speech and how to deal with it has come more strongly into public focus. There have been calls ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: All Politics is Local
Thursday, 25 April 2019, 11:20 am | Peter Dunne
When I first became an MP back in 1984 one of the earliest and sagest pieces of advice I received was from my illustrious predecessor, Sir John Marshall, who told me "be loyal to your electorate and it will be loyal to you." It was advice I was to ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: The Capital Gains Tax U-Turn
Thursday, 18 April 2019, 8:45 am | Peter Dunne
In my Newsroom Column last week about the proposed Capital Gains Tax I wrote that "Notwithstanding her own strong feelings in favour of a comprehensive capital gains tax, [the Prime Minister] needs to recognise the depth of public opposition ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: Shooting the Pharmac Messenger
Thursday, 11 April 2019, 9:55 am | Peter Dunne
National's unsuccessful attempt to get a Parliamentary inquiry into PHARMAC is a classic case of shooting the messenger. PHARMAC is a procurement agency, charged with securing the nation's supplies of medicines and medical devices. But it is not, ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: The Death of Reason
Thursday, 4 April 2019, 9:57 am | Peter Dunne
Anyone who tuned into this week’s television debate between ACT leader David Seymour and National MP Maggie Barry on the subject of Mr Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill in the expectation of learning more about a controversial subject that will ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: No Need for Royal Commission
Thursday, 28 March 2019, 9:48 am | Peter Dunne
There is no need to need to review the structure of the security services in the wake of the Christchurch Mosque killings. Both the SIS and the GCSB have already been heavily reviewed in recent years, made more accountable in their operations, ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: Beware the Ides of March
Thursday, 21 March 2019, 8:52 am | Peter Dunne
In school, we all learnt the phrase, "Beware the Ides of March" courtesy of Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar. The soothsayer's warning to Caesar was brushed aside and Caesar assassinated a little later in the day. For the last nearly 420 ... More >>
Dunne Speaks
Friday, 15 March 2019, 9:19 am | Peter Dunne
It is often said that no government can legislate for commonsense. And it is also often said that the first thing every new Minister should do upon appointment is read and comprehend the provisions of the Cabinet Manual. Both statements are particularly ... More >>
Dunne Speaks: Public Servants Have Political Views Too
Friday, 8 March 2019, 9:39 am | Peter Dunne
The Wellington public service bureaucracy still maintains an aura of political neutrality about its operations. Public servants are, as tradition expects, generally loyal to their Ministers and the government of the day, and do not seek to cause them any ... More >>
