With all the government's handbrake turns and wheelies, the Beehive may soon rival tracts of the Hutt Valley as a hot venue for boy racers of a Friday night.
A fair amount of rubber was burnt halting the Rotorua Māoriwards legislation, and the skid marks from reverse laps around the Three Waters reforms are still smoking. It's all pedal to the metal and hang the speed cameras now Labour has decided grocery regulation is urgent after all.
With Labour's re-election chances hairier than ever, more backtracks on controversial policies are likely, with potentially popular ones reaching ear-popping acceleration rates.
But oh, the whiplash when something unexpected shows up in the road. Revenue Minister David Parker's new mission to soak the rich came as a spray of road spikes. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was so spooked as to perform the equivalent of that heart-stopping accidental manoeuvre where you throw your gearbox into reverse while belting along a motorway. Her attempts to rule out a wealth tax, given Parker's Wagnerian declaration of vengeance, were less convincing than she might have hoped.
Ardern has previously ruled out a wealth tax both "this term" and "under her watch", but this week has fallen conspicuously short of reiterating that pledge with respect to next term. Her caution was probably because "wealth tax" can mean so many different things, many of which are always under consideration, from imposts on mansions, inheritance, vacant land and financial transactions to incursions into trust fund rules.
This was emphatically not the debate the government wanted to have now. What Parker announced was a new research programme into the affairs of the superrich to inform future tax-net finetuning. Alas, he made it sound as though Judgment Day was nigh. The message the media took was, “Big, fat, rich bastards' tax coming right up!"
Denne historien er fra May 14, 2022-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra May 14, 2022-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.