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National is attacking democratic principles and institutions on many fronts, from the continued abuse of urgency and parliamentary process, to the privatisation of local government functions in the new Auckland "Supercity", to sacking democratically elected boards and cancelling elections in Canterbury, to the privatisation by…
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National's proposed reform of the foreshore and seabed legislation is no 'elegant solution'. Instead, it is being criticised in the business press as an undemocratic favouring of Maori business interests over Pakeha ones, while iwi are saying that it doesn't give them what they want.…
business capitalism foreshore and seabed maori party Mining national
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Last year, Justice Bill Wilson sat on a Court of Appeal case in which wool growers tried to get levies they claimed they were owed by the Wool Board. The judges found in favour of the Wool Board. The problem was, Justice Wilson is a…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Everyone's been saying that 2010 is the year that Key has to make something of his turn in the big seat. Smile and wave is easy enough in the first year, people are willing to give you a chance. But at some point, the public…
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Rachel Maddow has a look at exactly how much Fox News just makes stuff up and calls it news. It uses selectively edited stories like the ACORN (Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) 'pimp' story, the 'climategate' e-mails, and many other highly inaccurate 'stories',…
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The site was down last weekend, so this event did not get reported. Gareth at Hot Topic posted this and it is reposted here with permission. Like most of the denialist assertions, 'climategate' was just selective spinning, but the refutation as usual gets less media…
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The day after Zet's post here on homophobic, imbalanced reporting by TV3's Duncan Garner, Brian Edward's wrote a scathing detailed deconstruction of Garner's repeatedly vicious coverage of Chris Carter. Edwards suggests Garner's repeated attacks resemble a personal harassment campaign, a view Dim Post agrees with saying…
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A week is a long time in politics, so they say. About a week ago John Armstrong wrote: Maori should grab this chance National's long-awaited prescription for healing that weeping political sore otherwise known as the foreshore and seabed should be grabbed with both hands…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Geoffrey Palmer needs a holiday. It's bad enough that he's acting as the mouthpiece for John Key's pro-whaling policy that has the Japanese applauding and our allies shaking their heads in dismay. Now, he's saying we should encourage visits by US naval vessels. 'What's so…
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In politics nothing lasts forever. That is it seems, except the Rt Hon Winston Peters. The latest Roy Morgan poll has National (49%) and Labour (33%) down, with the Greens (7%) and NZ First (3%) on the rise. This is the first time in more…
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I am an ex-pat Kiwi currently living in London which, in the run up to the May 6th general election in the U.K., is enabling me to witness the striking parallels between the Tory talking points and those of the National party. George Osborne, the…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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It's so vacuous and vapid that even Guyon Espiner is concerned about the lack of quality analysis and policy design. To be sure, Guyon didn't voice these concerns on air and he starts his blog by falling into the "we've got to do something, this…
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Well, Maori activists who want a better deal on the foreshore and seabed can rest assured that the Maori Party is about to sell them out. Tariana Turia just got herself a shiny new portfolio overseeing the unaccountable privatisation of social services for families in…
foreshore and seabed maori party national/act government privatisation public services
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So the govt wants to sue the Waihopai 3 for $1.1 million. Problem is, the dudes only have a grand between them. Spending a couple of hundred thousand on lawyers' fees to bankrupt some hippies. Doesn't seem like the best use of taxpayer cash. Tell…
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The Waihopai spy base is very much in the news. Last month the Waihopai Three were acquitted of charges, provoking a storm of controversy (and congratulations). Yesterday came the news that the Government is considering further action - "'Bad losers' eye $1.1m suit" - probably…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Finally, I can reveal the operational structure of Whanau Ora. The left side is the existing system, the right side is all the Whanau Ora additions. I drew this myself in five minutes in Paint but it's about as professional as anything you'll find in the…
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According to Roy Morgan, the Herald lost 50,000 readers last year compared to 2008, an achievement only surpassed by the Sunday Star-Times, which shed 107,000 (17%!). Funnily enough, that didn't make the newsworthiness grade for our newspaper of record but this Easter Sunday piece by…
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Recently, and for good reason, New Zealanders and the media have objected to companies using palm oil due the deforestation caused by the palm oil industry. For New Zealand to take such a stance, when our diary industry has a similarly devastating impact on the…
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Mickysavage pointed us to this piece by the Guardian's George Monbiot on the rich's oft-repeated threats that if they don't get tax cuts, they'll leave: It's a bitter blow. When the government proposed a windfall tax on bonuses and a 50p top rate of income…
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A while ago at a barbeque a couple of friends were discussing the "Seven Good Pairs of Hands Theory", namely, that a good government only needs seven very good people at its core to run effectively. Indeed, more than seven can often be problematic because of…
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It's the lies that get you. That's what Agriculture Minister David Carter and John Key are learning as more details of Carter's conflict of interest over the legislation that removed the Environment Canterbury councilare emerging. That Carter attempted to interfere in a judicial process that…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Whanau Ora is, apparently, about giving a big pile of money to private groups under so-called 'high trust' contracts and expecting them to get on and deliver a whole range of public services that have previously been the responsibility of accountable government departments, or, more…
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So will David Cameron snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory? According to the latest Guardian poll it is possible. Results show that: Labour support has climbed four points to 33% since an ICM poll carried out for the Guardian last week. Conservative backing…
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I don't have a problem with MPs being able to get public funding for court cases arising from their professional activities. You wouldn't expect private sector employees who are taken to court over their actions in their job to be forced to pay their own…
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Wikileaks has revealed footage shot from a US Apache helicopter in Iraq in 2007. If you can bear to watch it, you'll see and hear the crews of the two helicopters involved callously murder a dozen Iraqi civilians with all the seriousness and gravity of…