It's a good day for property rights - and a bad day for meddling bureaucrats.

If you vote for politicians who promise to give you someone else’s money, don’t complain when they give your money to someone else – or, indeed, to themselves.

ACT will finish the settlements and wind up the Waitangi Tribunal. The Waitangi Tribunal has been part of New Zealand’s constitutional landscape for more than fifty years. It has made an important contribution, particularly in helping address historical grievances. But institutions should not exist simply because they always have. ACT supports completing full and final historical Treaty settlements where the Crown confiscated land, breached property rights, or committed other historical injustices. That work should be finished properly. But the Tribunal that exists today is very different from the institution established in 1975. Through urgent and kaupapa inquiries, it now passes judgment on day-to-day government policy, proposes alternative policy settings, and seeks to steer decisions that properly belong to elected Governments and Parliament. That is not the role the Tribunal should play in a modern democracy. ACT will end its jurisdiction over contemporary Government policy, complete the remaining eligible historical claims, and wind up the Tribunal once that work is done. As we approach 2040, two centuries since the signing of the Treaty, it is time to settle the past, commit to equal rights for every New Zealander, and move forward under one law for all and one future together.

One food truck had to meet 13 officials from eight different central and local government agencies to navigate the rules in New Zealand. When they explored setting up in Australia, they got one contact and a clear pathway. That’s nuts. You shouldn’t need a working group to start a food truck. Today the Government released the Ministry for Regulation’s Hospitality Sector Review. It found businesses giving regulators information they already had, then waiting far too long for an answer. Everyone has a favourite local they wish was still open. Government should not add to the pressure with duplicated paperwork and rules that have little to do with the actual risk. ACT created the Ministry for Regulation because problems like this stretch across government and otherwise never get fixed. Ministers will now go through the recommendations and get on with fixing them. Government waste also shows up in the hours businesses spend chasing officials. We’re cutting that waste so the next food truck gets one clear answer instead of 13 meetings. Cutting the waste to grow the country includes cutting the time and money Government makes New Zealanders waste. That food truck owner just needed someone to say yes. Now they will.

A good day for taxpayers after National adopts ACT's policy for tourism, replacing their bed tax idea.

ACT sets the No New Taxes agenda “ACT is chalking up a taxpayer victory, after the National Party has adopted a version of our local tourism dividend," says ACT Leader David Seymour. “About two weeks after ACT pledged No New Taxes, the National Party followed suit. A few days later we announced a Local Tourism Dividend policy as an alternative to a Bed Tax, National has adopted a version of that policy as well. "ACT is proud to have shaped the debate on this issue, when so many parties wanted to introduce a new tax, there is now a clear pathway to solve the same problem without a new tax. “This is good news for the next Government, should we be re-elected. It is also another example of the value of ACT. We hold the line against new taxes, then come up with a better solution. “As I said while announcing the policy, if revenues allow and councils use funds wisely, the $1 rate may rise over time. This policy fixes a real problem without adding another charge to the hotel bill or expanding government. “It is a smarter alternative to a bed tax because it doesn’t impose a compliance burden on businesses, there is no new charge on the hotel bill, no new tax administration, and no legislation required to establish another tax. It uses the existing $185 billion revenue of the Government and Councils, rather than making the Government bigger. "If there is a cut-and-dried case of the difference the ACT Party makes, it is the absence of a bed tax, a bank tax and the stamp duty on houses National would have put in place given the chance. “Without ACT around the Cabinet table holding firm on No New Taxes, New Zealanders would already be paying more. "ACT Ministers have driven $14 billion of savings across three Budgets, helping avoid more debt, taxes, and pressure on interest rates. That discipline has helped put the Government on a path back to surplus a year earlier, but it needs to be delivered year on year. “If we want New Zealand to be the best little country in the world, we need a smaller, more efficient government that focuses every dollar on results. We need to cut the waste to grow the country, make life more affordable, and unlock New Zealand’s potential. "A party vote for ACT is a steadfast anchor against the pressure for higher taxes and bigger government. This won’t be the last time the fiscal pressure comes on and our friends are tempted to eat the tax apple from the wrong tree. To balance the books with No New Taxes, Party Vote ACT in 2026."

A must watch for anyone who still thinks the Greens are 'evidence based.' I was in the studio and I felt sorry for @_chloeswarbrick piped.video/watch?v=2E9-3GVR…

Today's School Strike 4 Climate. The turnout shows our message on school attendance is getting through. If you want a better tomorrow, the first step is to show up at school and gain the knowledge that makes it possible.

No PM Questions today?

The strangest immigration policy we have is that permanent residents don’t have to be permanently resident. New Zealand is an outlier among Western countries in offering all the benefits of citizenship indefinitely, without requiring people to actually live here. ACT will require resident visa holders to spend at least two years here in every five to maintain their travel rights, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to this country.

Unreal episode of David vs Tova 🔥💀

𝗔𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 “ACT will exercise Agree to Disagree and vote against National’s proposed social media ban,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “I’ve worried about social media’s effect on young people since at least 2018, when I had dinner with Jonathan Haidt. His warnings looked pretty lonely then, but he’s been proven right that social media is having a serious impact on young people. “That’s why ACT pushed for Parliament to investigate the issue. It’s also why Laura McClure has led work to outlaw deepfake pornography with universal support. “Protecting children online is a serious problem. Unfortunately, the National Party have hitched their wagon to a terrible solution. The ban they propose won’t work, and the side effects will leave us worse off. “Teenagers are remarkably good at getting around restrictions on the internet. Any system strong enough to reliably stop them will inevitably start asking a lot more of everybody else. “Any Government trying to implement a ban faces two basic choices. They can make it so strong that adults are caught up in it, like France where the Government is going back to the drawing board after their top Court struck the law out. Or, they can make the law so weak that is makes little difference, as Australia has found with nearly all children still on social media as if there is no ban. “This law follows the Australian model, more of a face saver for politicians who promised too much than a serious solution. You only have to look at the bill to see it is a call for ‘best efforts’ even concluding it is more about ‘social norms’ than results. “The law says the New Zealand Government could fine a company like Meta 10 per cent of their global revenue. That would be $33 billion USD. That would be nice, the New Zealand Government would finally be in surplus, if they’d ever pay. “That means age checks, identification requirements, and more New Zealanders proving who they are simply to use ordinary parts of the internet. “ACT predicts a sense of déjà vu, the National Party wanted to ban Paywave fees, but forgot the cost would be passed on to small business. They had to quietly shelve the policy after failing to listen to ACT. “When they inevitably realise this policy doesn’t work, won’t be the first time they’d come around to an ACT position, only two weeks ago they wanted bed taxes and bank taxes. “There are other risks too. A ban could push young people away from mainstream platforms and towards darker corners of the internet. It could also make teenagers less willing to talk to parents or teachers about what they see online because they know they weren’t supposed to be there in the first place. “Before Parliament creates another powerful regulator, imposes widespread online identification, or starts restricting legitimate privacy tools, it should be able to show those measures are necessary and will actually work. “ACT won’t support a policy just because it sounds tough or polls well. The test should be whether it works, and whether the cure is worse than the disease.”

Must read from @cjsbishop beehive.govt.nz/speech/speec…

My thoughts are with those affected by the horrible incident in our community on Manukau Rd this morning. I will leave for Police to communicate details of the incident, but there is no further danger since the one offender is in custody.

Disrupt the class …leave the class. Mr Speaker gives @actparty’s new policy a spin.

No, ‘Q,’ Christopher didn’t rule you out because he’s ‘tribal,’ he explained why he disagrees with your policies.

Oh dear @chrishipkins