NationBuilder

Yesterday it was reported that the Government is negotiating a scheme involving a loan to Auckland Council, which would buy the disputed land at Ihumātao.

This land is currently owned privately, by Fletcher Building. We say that if protestors or iwi want it, they can raise the money themselves.

As we have argued previously, a taxpayer-funded purchase of the land wouldn't just be a $40 million waste: it would reward trespassers and lead to an 'open season' for expensive new land disputes.

Yesterday we delivered our petition, supported by more than 7,000 of our supporters against Government intervention at Ihumātao to Parliament.

ACT Leader David Seymour volunteered to recieve it, and he will pass the signatures on to Grant Robertson (who is reportedly negotiating the deal).

Thank you to all of you who signed on to the cause. That's a great result that the Government will find difficult to ignore.

Chinese propaganda funded by New Zealand film subsidies

The film 'Wolf Warrior II', produced by state-owned Chinese companies, is advertised with the tagline: ‘Anyone who offends China, no matter how remote, must be exterminated.’

In other words, taxpayers have all been made complicit in the promotion of violent Chinese nationalism.

Those Chinese dissidents who chose to live in New Zealand to escape state-funded incitements to violence deserve an explanation, if not an apology.

Taxpayers should not be forced to fund political propaganda of any kind. This case is an extreme example, but it’s a strong argument against our government’s programme of corporate welfare for the film industry.

New Zealand First donation scandal dominates news

Usually, when a political party receives a large donation, the donor and details are made public. This is not the case for the "New Zealand First Foundation", which has reportedly funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the New Zealand First Party via loans and direct payments.

This story has rattled the media, and for good reason. If it is found that donors to the Foundation have benefited from, say, the Provincial Growth Fund, or the One Billion Trees grant programme (both of which are overseen by Shane Jones), then we would be looking at a corruption scandal in the heart of Jacinda Ardern's Government.

Along with lower taxes and less waste, more transparency is part of our mission and we had been looking into this emerging scandal for a few weeks. We want confidence that any conflicts of interest for Winston Peters and Shane Jones have been properly declared and handled. Watch this space.

Corporate welfare for Rio Tinto and countering fake news re: the space industry

Finally this week, if you don't follow us on Facebook, you will have missed the great work of our student intern, Matt, who produces our weekly videos.

And this week, Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck claimed the New Zealand space industry doesn't receive subsidies. In 38 seconds, Matt exposes the truth:

Christchurch City Council staff 'manipulated' public reports

Remember our fight with Christchurch City Council to discover the cost of its seven-metre 'touch wall'?

Well, it's resulted in a scathing Ombudsman report which concludes council staff have manipulated public reports and hidden facts from elected councillors.

The Council refused our request for the cost of the touch wall, even after the Ombudsman took our side. It was only after we announced we were going to court, and were minutes away from filing papers, that the Council buckled and revealed the cost: $1.24 million.

It was eventually revealed they were waiting for the launch of their new library, so the information could be part of a “good news” package.

As I told Newstalk ZB's Chris Lynch, the saga is a lesson for councils: don't try to cover up information, because the lack of transparency can become an even bigger scandal than the spending itself.

Another educational mission to Parliament...

After our delivery of 'Economics in One Lesson' to every MP in Parliament, a pair of generous supporters offered to support a second delivery: this time of Frédéric Bastiat’s 1850 classic “The Law”.

Bastiat argues: “Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.”

The book details how the law is easily perverted to seed insidious tendencies of protectionism, unjust taxation, and corporate welfare, which ultimately erode our liberty and prosperity.

Are lower taxes, less waste, and more transparency worth the price of a weekly coffee?

The Taxpayers' Union relies on your financial support. An easy way to support our work is to set up a monthly donation – even just $20 a month. That’s a cup of coffee a week.

Your support allows us to spend less time fundraising, and more time fighting for taxpayers like you.