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Last week I posted on Finsec's petition to make job protection a condition of the Government's bank guarantees. Today Finsec are delivering that petition to Parliament, along with more than 10,000 signatures in support. Great stuff to all of you who signed the sheet and…
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The unseemly haste with which the National/Act Government is pursuing its undemocratic supercity is causing more and more people to wake up to the con job they are pulling. A Reid poll (ignored by the Herald but run by the community newspapers) shows where just…
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It's a few days late but last Saturday's Herald story about Air New Zealand preparing strikebreakers for the Zeal 320 strike this weekend depressed the hell out of me. What exactly is our national carrier, which is more than 80% publicly owned, doing boasting about…
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Bill English seems set to suspend the government's contributions to the Cullen Fund. Here's a little-known fact, one that Bill English probably doesn't want you to know: The Cullen Fund made money in March, the sharemarkets are rising and we're making money on that. In…
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A while back we heard a rumour that National had already printed its billboards for the Mt Albert campaign - with Melissa Lee as the candidate. We decided not to run it. It was too implausible to think they would run the risk of doing…
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I had the pleasure of meeting lauded climate activist and author Bill McKibben this morning. McKibben is in New Zealand as part of a tour encouraging action on climate change, in the lead up to the big UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December. He's…
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I see Russel Norman is now describing Labour's Mt Albert Candidate, David Shearer, as the "grey" man. Now I haven't been around as long as I have without being able to spot a "line" and that is certainly a line, and one of the attack…
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The Quarterly Employment Survey out today shows that 46,700 jobs disappeared between December and March. That's 2.6% of jobs gone in a single quarter. Unemployment is probably well over 6%, we'll find out exactly what it is later this week. 47,000 jobs lost while the…
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It was deeply depressing to wake up this morning to the sound of Russel Norman running National Party attack lines on Radio NZ. For a party that has the best policy by far on how to deal with the huge economic and environmental challenges we…
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Rodney Hide would have us believe that a supercity is the way of the future. He says "Auckland cannot become a world-class city without change". Funny, because it's already the 4th best city in the world, along with Vancouver which is also not a supercity.…
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Here's the cover of Ian Wishart's latest piece of scientifically illiterate climate change denialism, Air Con: And here's the poster for World Fair Trade Day 2008: It seems an unlikely coincidence. [Hat tip: forgetaboutthelastone in the comments.]
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David Shearer has been selected as the candidate for Labour. Congratulations to all of the candidates [updated: The vodem was a bit slow. So I've now updated the post with links to the byelection campaign site after I got home.]
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Robinsod is no longer here to do the book reviews of Wishart's latest insights into the world of the paranoid. As he said before pronouncing his severe disappointment with Wishart in his last book.. I had high hopes for Absolute Power, I really did. If…
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The National selection in Mount Albert will be going down to the wire with the inevitable split between the locals and the regional/national organisations going to show on their monday selection. Patrick Gower had a good piece in the Herald yesterday - National torn over…
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No Right Turn highlights Thursday's Herald editorial calling for our political leaders to step up and take some leadership in the republic debate. The Herald argues: If republican sentiment is to blossom, it needs to be galvanised from above. Such a process, done well, would…
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Stepfather State's taken over. Our new parent likes to keep his distance...he usually comes home after work at the office...but only for a quick bite to eat...he ignores the kids, yells at the Mrs and kicks the dog on the way out to the club…
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One of these things is not like the other... One of these things is not quite the same. Can you guess which one is not like the other... Can you tell me before I finish the game?
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If you'd told me the Herald would use International Workers' Day as an opportunity to preach class warfare I wouldn't have believed you. But there's really no other way to describe today's editorial. We all know the Government is running a large deficit at the…
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Tony Friedlander of the trucking lobby and architect of the famous 'truck strike' (remember that? man that was weird when you think about it) was on the TV last week arguing that we should get rid of road user charges and replace them with a…
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During the last Labour government the Kiwiblog Right used to call Wellington 'Helengrad', a play on Leningrad. Ironic then that, after the election of National, David Farrar humorously changed the name to 'St Johnnysburg', based on the Russian city's czarist name. Because the Nats are…
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If you're in Auckland tonight get along for the annual May Day march up Queen Street. Poster below. More events, including for other centres, are listed here.
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National introduced legislation yesterday that will create a 10% bonus for voluntary repayments of student loans. Repay $1,000 above your compulsory repayments, get $1,100 taken off your loan. Sounds like a good deal. Well, not for people who can't afford to make voluntary repayments but…
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Well the other shoe has dropped, and Michael Cullen has now left parliament. His valedictory speech is classic Cullen - best line (re his new role at NZ Post) "When I attacked National last year for swallowing so many dead rats little did I think…