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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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You can't mix oil and water, they are too fundamental different. You can swirl things about for a while and it may appear you've mixed them but there is an essential difference that can't be crossed, and it will always win through. The same is…
foreshore and seabed maori party national racism treaty settlements
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A recently released UMR poll commissioned by right-wing think tank the Maxim Institute shows strong support for the policies of the last Labour Government and little taste for the reforms National is trying to push through. It seems that if you ask Kiwis what kind…
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National is pushing ahead with its ideologically-driven plan to privatise prisons. You know, I don't think that the Left should argue against private prisons on the grounds that imprisonment should be a core public function, or that privatisation is just about 'cost-cutting'. The argument against…
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A headline on Newsroom caught my eye a couple of days back (see also Treasury): Deficit Falls Further - The Government's deficit has decreased further, with the Crown's operating balance for the nine months to March 31 coming in $2,006 million smaller than forecast at…
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As of last week, Tuhoe thought they had a deal with the government. The centre-piece of the agreement was vesting parts of the Te Urewera National Park, the Tuhoe homeland, with Tuhoe. The land would have been continued to be administered as a national park,…
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Peter Conway will speak on the likely composition of the Budget in the second Fabian Society lecture at St John's Church Hall cnr Willis and Dixon Streets in Wellington at 5:30 tomorrow Wednesday. Equity and fairness will be the issues - you can get more…
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The British Labour Party is making a final attempt to woo the Liberal Democrats into a progressive coalition government. Gordon Brown will be cast aside as Prime Minister and [the more] proportional AV electoral system introduced without referendum. On the other side of that the…
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It looks like National is about to cave in to public opinion and abandon its ridiculous plans to mine on New Zealand's most precious land. Good. The economics never made any sense, let alone the environmental case. I note they're still keen to mine on…
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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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By the time you read this the result of the post election coalition talks in the UK will almost certainly be known. At time of posting the momentum towards a Tory / Lib Dem coalition seems just about unstoppable. A steady stream of positive announcements…
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This post by kathy at the Greenpeace blog dispels some of the Brownlee bullshit. The bulk of the proposed mining is for coal. Used with permission. Predictably, the Government is gearing up to backtrack on some of the more extreme and unpalatable elements of its…
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The nutty anti-science, anti-women's rights, homophobic, Luddite-like sect that secretly spent a million dollars trying to get National into power in 2005, the Exclusive Brethren, is back in the news. This time for the practices at their schools, which receive millions in government funding. First…
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To build a brighter future for New Zealand we need to invest in it. We need to build our national savings, so that we don't need to borrow from overseas or sell our assets, sending the profits of Kiwi work to foreign capitalists. We need…
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You might remember Michael Littlewood, the Government's anti-Cullen Fund, pro-privatisation of superannuation stalking horse, from the last Budget. Back then, he was arguing that we should stop contributions to the Fund, or even wind it up, because of the deficit. Now, he's arguing we should…
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Congratulations John on your latest speech. We especially like the line "Let me be clear: there is no room for separatism in New Zealand." Very masterly, clear and unequivocal. I know you meant what you said and weren't just dog-whistling to the racist red-necks in…
accountability brand key history human rights International john key national racism
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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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The Herald has an article on the government investigating the mining potential of seamounts. These are extinct underwater volcanoes, which are rich in unique sea life and ecologies that include some of our most important fisheries, and minerals. We know that on-shore mining is environmentally…
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Prime Minister John Key has released a multimedia demonstration prepared by his Technical Advisory Panel to explain why, despite election 'promises', New Zealand will not be getting ultra-fast broadband any time soon under National. Yes folks, like John Key's Magical Cycleway To Salvation, there are…
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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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One thing that the election in Britain brought home to me, was how much I'm grateful for having Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) representation here. I didn't start that way. In 1993, I was probably leaning towards Single Transferable Vote (STV) or even retaining First Past…
election 2011 First Past the Post humour interweb MMP political education referendum Supplementary Member
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An informative quote from Bill English trying to assuage National Party member who are concerned that the Party is betraying its principles (ha!) and giving too much to the Maori Party: "On any given day over the next period, as you start thinking about the…
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Today, all the Herald's political commentators talk about Key's decision to come back from his Middle East trip after the ANZAC Day helicopter crash. The Sprout's already cited approvingly the criticism of John Langley, a businessman who was on the tour of the Gulf Co-operation…
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In the wake of an uncertain UK election outcome, the BBC's Nick Bryant writes that Britain could learn from New Zealand in the art of forming coalition governments. The article is fascinating from a Kiwi perspective, because it shows just how far we've come in…
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In other cheery news this morning: Euro crisis goes global as leaders fail to stop the rot The growing crisis in the eurozone threatened to undermine the global economic recovery as markets plunged across the world on fears that European leaders may not be able…
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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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The UK election has delivered a complex hung parliament and almost anything seems possible. At time of writing The Guardian is reporting that David Cameron will soon be making an announcement on "plans to form a strong and stable government" (according to Sky News), and…
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It's puzzled me for some years how few people bat and eye at the countless portrayals of violent death and brutality we see every night on TV, while anything that portrays acts of physical intimacy are carefully vetted in case they cause anyone offence. This…
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The other day I wrote about pay rises for workers. 75% of non-union workers took a pay cut last year. Seems their bosses made off a lot better. Despite all the business collapses and the 21,000 lost jobs, half of all CEOs got a pay…
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A place to discuss the UK election and the results as they emerge. Follow The Guardian's election blog: 5.17am: This is what Gordon Brown told reporters on the flight down to London. I am the leader of the Labour, but I have also got a…