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The latest load of bill-paying work has finished (and the site is paid up until June). I'm at a relatively loose end for a few weeks. There are a number of postponed tasks that I'll catch up on, but there should be a lot of…
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Just like petrol prices, the cost of fueling National's PR machine is on the rise. Tracy Watkins reports that "National has employed 18 press secretaries on salaries of $100,000 or more. Seven are employed in the $10,000 band below $100,000". In the past Winston dubbed…
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An hour ago No Right Turn posted a piece citing what was apparently a Ministry of Social Development press release, which he says was "confirmation that the government is planning to slash 500 to 1000 people from the Ministry of Social Development". He gives a link to scoop…
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The Greens have released advice from the Ministry of Justice confirming that the Government's rushed RMA changes will prevent legitimate cases going to court and undermine fundamental justice rights. According to the leaked cabinet paper: 'the [financial] risks associated with security of costs can act…
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"We are all socialists now", or so says the cover of the latest Newsweek. And to be fair, you've got to start wondering when the United States is in the process of nationalising the means of exchange and a Tory Prime Minister of New Zealand…
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* Did any journo ask Key how much the boot camp is costing per person? Follow my maths. Total cost of new youth punishment measures - $35 million on top of existing costs for 1000 youths per year. So, per youth cost = $35,000 on…
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Wondering about the latest on New Zealand First's leadership? Curious as to the prospects for a RAM/Workers' Party union? The new blog Micro Party Watch promises to keep us up to date on the latest developments for the little extra-parliamentary parties.
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Tracey Watkins reports that National has announced details of its Boot Camps policy: "The military-style camp programme would target the 40 most serious young offenders and consist of up to three months' residential training, using army type facilities or training methods." 40? I thought this…
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Why does the Business Roundtable employ an economic illiterate to represent them to the public and argue their corner on macroeconomics? Here's some of what Roger Kerr has to say in his op-ed in Granny Herald today: "What seems to be overlooked is that the…
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When I heard Shell is looking at selling its service stations in NZ and its shares in Fulton Hogan, my initial thought was that the Government should look at buying - to keep profits in NZ, to help ensure competition in the market as Kiwibank…
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According to the Dom Post Judith Collins is preparing legislation to reintroduce private prisons into New Zealand's corrections system. The arguments against privatisation are manifold and many of them have been covered at The Standard before. Bottom line for me is that the right to…
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It's great to see a lot of grassroots activity around the Left at the moment. No Right Turn has set up the Progbills wiki. It's open-source legislation, that works similarly to Wikipedia. You can go on and contribute to formulating draft Bills on left-wing issues,…
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The NZPA has revealed that Ministrial Services is employing fewer people on higher pay under the new National/ACT government than it did under the Labour-led government last year. David Farrar is spinning this as great news, they've cut the number fo people the Government is…
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It's a bit late but I thought I'd draw people's attention to the work Pundit's Tim Watkin has been doing on the government's stimulus package. Or more rather the work he's been doing on the government's re-releasing of already approved spending under the guise of…
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Great video for the real victims of this recession, the 'smartest men in the room' who cocked everything up, the money-men. Bleed the World/ Let them know it's credit crunch time
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There were few Valentine's Day sentiments for Labour in John Armstrong's column today: It is difficult to put a finger on it, but something does not feel quite right about Labour's approach to being in Opposition...Labour is exhibiting a self-righteousness which grates when placed against…
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I just want to second Tane's comments regarding the sentence for the killer of Pihema Cameron. A 12 year old Maori child acts as look out for some older kids in a robbery that goes wrong. That kid, Bailey Kurariki, despite not having even hurt, let alone…
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Today is the anniversary of two of histories great names - Darwin and Lincoln. Both men made significant (albeit different) contributions to our current understanding of the world. Simon Jenkins of the Guardian asks which was the greater? Was it the man who transformed our…
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Bruce Emery's sentence of just four years and three months on a reduced charge of manslaughter for chasing 15 year old Pihema Cameron 300 metres down the street and stabbing him to death with a knife is a stark reminder of the institutional racism that…
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Lockwood Smith managing of Question Time. B. Lockwood has made a commendable effort to get ministers to answer questions and cut down on some of the other bollocks that ruins Question Time. National MPs clearly expect that after years of complaining of ministers skirting questions…
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Bill English is living in a dream, and he may create a nightmare for the rest of us. Last week, he said the recession would be over in 6-12 months. He hasn't bothered to announce any significant new spending in response to the recession -…
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John Key and Tracey Watkins have both (completely by coincidence) said we must avoid responding to the recession with a ‘sugar rush' of spending. They're just making excuses for National's hopelessly inadequate policies for dealing with the recession but they are right about the need…
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It appears National are trying to promote the "little and often" approach to economic planning - but commentators are appearing a little skeptical. Take John Armstrong: The $500 million worth of capital spending on doing up state houses, constructing new roads and bridges, building new…
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Two Pennsylvania Judges have been accused of taking bribes from private prison operators to ensure a reliable stream of prisoners. To quote Associated Press: In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions…
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The hilarity continues. According to a person who was there, Douglas didn't use his speech because it had been accidently leaked, and subsequently delivered on Youtube by a sockpuppet. The Herald, however, quoted from the speech as if he had given it. Turns out they…
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Just got an email through from the team at DL Wellington confirming that tonight's event with Brian Easton is on despite the rain and will be under cover so you won't get wet. Brian Easton is one of our leading left-wing economists and his talk…
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Ralston's latest column - Ryall's disabled thinking - covers Tony Ryall's decision to ignore a select committee recommendation that National set up a Disabilities Commission, asking: Why did he [Ryall] ignore the fact that National's own MPs were on the select committee that agreed a commission was…
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Opensource. Free. Cool.
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After Roger Douglas' big comeback speech was accidentally released two days early on the Internet due to inept media handling, then parodied on youtube by a sockpuppet before it had even been delivered I didn't see much point in bothering with the actual content. Funnily…
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As IrishBill has said, National's so-called 'kick-start' is pretty underwhelming - bringing forward a few more roads and a bigger bridge so that a couple of times a year those Aucklanders that can afford to holiday in the Coromandel won't create such a big traffic…