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I was going through some of my 2008 files yesterday and got a sudden reminder of just how nuts the right was getting toward the end: It got me thinking about all the other crazy shit that was going on last year and prior to…
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I was going to write about the new DNA powers National/ACT is giving the Police, but No Right Turn has already done it far better than I could: The government's bill allowing DNA to be taken from anyone arrested breaches the Bill of Rights Act…
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The kickstart package is out and it seems to be a mixture of work that was already going to happen and stuff that is worthy enough but not focused on much past the building industry. One of the concerns I have is with the fast-tracking…
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Yesterday I expressed concern about Unite's referendum on indexing the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage on practical grounds while strongly supporting the idea in principle. Today in its editorial the Herald takes exception to the principle, complaining that such a move, even…
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Due to popular demand, here's an open thread for discussion of today's Question Time. Knock yourselves out.
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After yesterday's early release of Roger Douglas' Orewa speech set for 6pm this evening one of our (bafflingly tenacious) readers has sent us this: It seems this sockpuppet beat that sockpuppet to the punch.
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Great, through concerted pressure the Left managed to force a 9-cent an hour real increase in the minimum wage from National/ACT. A 9 cent an hour real increase is not much but it's a hell of a lot better than freezing the minimum wage at $12 an hour and…
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The Unite Union has reacted to the Government's miserly adjustment to the minimum wage by initiating a referendum on tying the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage. The principle behind the referendum is a good one. Indexing the minimum wage to 66% would…
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I see the Maori Party has come out saying the increase in the minimum wage to $12.50 an hour isn't enough, and that they still support both a $15 an hour minimum wage and a tax-free bracket up to $25,000 (about the full-time minimum wage…
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Roger Douglas has his big debut speech tomorrow night in Orewa. He's been working hard and sucking the (tax payer funded) parliamentary library resources dry to get it right. The speech, which promises to restart the neoliberal revolution, is embargoed until he delivers it to…
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I've got to admit there are days I wonder whether the National Party really have swung leftward. I mean I know they are a party of spin and I know they have enacted some nasty rightwing legislation but when I see them putting the minimum…
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President Obama wants to set US$500,000 as the top pay for banking executives whose firms accept government bailout money. From Boing-Boing: The lead story in today's New York Times Styles section is all about the tremendous difficulties that executives at bankrupt companies receiving public bailouts will face…
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Phil Goff has come out strongly in anticipation of today's minimum wage announcement from the Government with a call for an immediate increase to $13 an hour, rising to $15 over three years. As he points out, if National only increases the minimum wage from…
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This year, the economy will shrink (at least) 1%. At the same time, the population will grow 1% (at least, growth may be stronger due to expats fleeing the UK). So, there's going to be at least 2% less to go around (on top of…
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David Farrar has a wee post where he laments that he is rarely credited when he breaks stories that are then picked up by the media. We have the same thing happen to us. We broke the story on the minimum wage - that National/ACT…
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There is a rumour in the Dom Post and the Herald that the minimum wage will be announced today and the Nats are going to increase it to either $12.50 or $12.40 depending on whether it's Fairfax or APN you're reading. I wouldn't be surprised…
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It doesn't seem appropriate to write a detailed post on the horrific fires raging across in Australia. But at the same time I wanted to acknowledge the tragedy that is continuing to unfold. Keep strong, our thoughts are with you.
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Key's old arm cast has sold for $18,500 on Trademe. The money will go to the Fred Hollows Foundation to help blind people in the Solomon Islands. Great, a fair old dollop of money raised for a worthy cause. But let's not stop there. A large…
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When John Key was elected he was wise enough to be magnanimous in victory, acknowledging Helen Clark's considerable skill and integrity throughout her term as one of our longest serving Prime Ministers. Since that time however, Key's underlings have begun another death by a thousands…
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The Sunday Star Times will probably have an article out tomorrow about the possible nomination of Helen Clark to the position of head of the UN Development Programme. David P Farrar over at Kiwiblog leaked the story this afternoon. The position came up at short…
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There is no doubt that the Granny crew were hurt when their own 'poll' showed that people considered Helen Clark was the greatest living kiwi. It says a lot about the mean-spirited attitudes at the Herald that they didn't consider that politicians were possibilities for…
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Gosh what a difference a few years can make when it comes to symbols of national identity. Not so long ago National had a leader happy to springboard off dog-whistling race-divisive carping about the Treaty Grievance Industry in speeches and billboards. More recently National campaigned on…
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The praiseworthy and a pitiful is a weekly compilation of some of the comments we've seen around the traps that warrant some response, whether praise or criticism, whether for the substance of what has been said or the quality of the rhetoric. David Haywood's piece…
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Just when Farrar had made me happy, as I explain in this post, and had even been quite funny in his retort, he goes and reminds me I should never put anything past him. Today, he's attacking the welfare system by running a post about…
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The new employment data for the December quarter are out and they're surprising reading. Now, the media will grab hold of the headline unemployment figure. At 4.6%, it's up from 4.2% in the September quarter and brings the number of unemployed over 100,000 for the first time since 2003, which…
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Education Minister Anne Tolley has just put out a press release announcing the following: 'As part of the National Government's commitment to reducing compliance for schools, I have decided to remove the clause in National Administration Guideline (5) which states ‘where food and beverages are…
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Across the Tasman Kevin Rudd has announced a huge recovery package. Here at home, National is merely tinkering around the edges. Key's standard response to this criticism is that 'his' package puts us amongst the top few countries in the world in terms of spend…
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Clown Rodney Hide is the Minister of Local Government. He is also the lead clown of the long-time opposition circus that is the ACT party. It appears that he has the two roles confused. He is advocating that people ignore the law on gaining building…
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I've just had a read of John Key's speech today announcing measures to help small and medium businesses through the recession. And my first reaction is 'that's it?' 5% less provisional tax, whoopie. At the end of the year you get back any excess you've…