The Bull Ring

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟝 𝔸𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕒 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟝 𝔸𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕒 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣: 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕤. I t’s the in-between year. MPs had 2024 to settle into their new roles, while in 2025, some drama and great change are expected in the political arena. Here is what to look out for in the year ahead. . . January 7: Written submissions close for the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. This bill sparked the biggest protest Parliament has seen in decades, if not ever, in 2024 - with the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti. Since then, there have been major campaigns from groups both supporting and opposing the Treaty Principles Bill, holding “submissions workshops” and encouraging the public to write in to Parliament’s Justice Select Committee. It will be interesting to see how successful those campaigns have been, from the likes of Toitū Te Tiriti and Te Pāti Māori as well as the ACT Party and Hobso...

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕℤ ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕℤ ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪: 𝔸𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 T he New Zealand National Party, one of the two major political parties in New Zealand, has a long history of success in the country's political landscape. However, in recent years, the party has faced numerous challenges and setbacks that have led to a decline in support and a series of electoral defeats. This essay will explore the various factors that have contributed to the failure of the New Zealand National Party and examine the implications of these failures for the future of the party and New Zealand politics as a whole. . . One of the key factors that have contributed to the failure of the New Zealand National Party is leadership issues. The party has struggled to find a strong and charismatic leader who can effectively communicate the party's vision and co...

𝔻𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕪 𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕘: ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟜 𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝔸𝕔𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕔 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕤 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕝𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝟛𝟠.𝟘𝟠 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝟛𝟚.𝟡𝟜. T his is a significant fall. Most commentators identify three key liabilities for National. Its leader, Christopher Luxon, has poor communication skills and poor judgement, the economy appears to be deteriorating under his watch, and the public does not trust the Government to manage the public health system. National has had a busy year. They’ve delivered on many of their campaign promises, including rolling back most of the Labour Government's policies, cutting taxes and increasing transfer payments, laying off publi...

𝔼𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕞𝕪 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝔾𝔻ℙ 𝕤𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕤 𝕓𝕪 𝟙% 𝔼𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕞𝕪 𝕤𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕤 𝟙.𝟘% 𝕚𝕟 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝕢𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕣, -𝟙.𝟝% 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕒𝕘𝕠  ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕣𝕠𝕨 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝕢𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟜 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕒 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝟙.𝟙%, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕒 𝕠𝕗 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟚/𝟚𝟛 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤  𝕄𝕒𝕟𝕦𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕝𝕦𝕞𝕡, 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕓𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕣 𝔸𝕘𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖, 𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝, 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕖𝕣 T he economy was in a deeper than expected recession in the middle of the year, with widespread contraction across many sectors. Stats NZ data shows gross domestic product, the broad measure of economic growth, fell 1 percent in the three months ended September, to be 1.5 percent lower than ...

𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕥, ℕℤ 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕜. 𝕊𝕖𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝔾𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤: ℕℤ 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 ‘𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕜’ 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕔𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕞 W hen you buy a car, there is a legitimate window in which you can blame the previous owner. Bald tyres, no oil, dents? You have about a year in which you pin the responsibility on the owner’s past. People tend to lose sympathy when you’ve deliberately crashed the car yourself and are standing on the side of the road screaming thats its the previous owners fault Welcome to Aotearoa as we leave 2024 On almost every indicator, things are heading in the wrong direction. Unemployment is rising and is forecast to rise further. The rate would be higher if it weren't for the fact kiwis are heading overseas in record levels-133,000 people migrated away from Aotearoa in the year to September, thats one person leaving every 4 minutes and 22 seconds. . . . Tamarik...