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Three days after Workers Memorial Day, the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Safety has just released its report. In finding the New Zealand workplace health and safety system is "not fit for purpose" the report provides yet another indictment of so-called light-handed regulation and a policy…
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This was originally posted on The Daily Blog last week. Early last month there was a study published by Marcott et al with a reconstruction of the climate from available proxy data since the last major glacial events which ended about 11,000 years ago. As the editor…
climate change Environment farming food global warming science
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Hot on the heels of electricity industry funded Lewis Evans publishing an op-ed about how terrible NZ Power is, another academic has popped up to claim the policy is the end of the world. This time it's Dr Allan Miller, whose argument is that it…
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I/S at No Right Turn on the difference between what was promised of the "3 strikes" law and the way it is being used in practice. "The worst of the worst" When National passed its "three strikes" legislation in 2010, they promised that it would…
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An Advantage New Zealand conference is happening at the moment at John Key's favourite conference centre (SkyCity), with major players in the oil and gas industries sharing ideas, and strategies. They are promoting and backing each others' profit-making enterprises, no matter how destructive to our…
accountability capitalism climate change Conservation energy john key Metiria Turei overseas investment privatisation slippery spin sustainability
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Lewis Evans had an op-ed in the Dompost yesterday. It attacked NZ Power in confused terms. Evans claimed, for instance, that all the savings from lower costs would come from lower dividends to the Government, when a moment's thought shows you that's not true and…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Geoff Bertram states in today's DomPost (repeated on interest.co.nz) that he advised the Select Committee on the Mighty River Power sale legislation that the excessive profits gained by the power companies were potentially subject to regulatory interest by any government that placed consumer interest ahead…
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Parekura Horomia has died following a bout of illness. He was a great Totara in the Labour forest and will be greatly missed. Whano koe ki te rangi ... ki a Tawhirimatea, kia kaha ai koe, kia toa ai koe... kia whai mana ai koe.…
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I/S at No Right Turn on the Nats' excuses and choices as they oppose the extension of paid parental leave. National hates families So, despite massive public support for the bill, National is still threatening to veto the extension of paid parental leave. Their reason? We…
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So the big Aussie banks in NZ are on course for showing they have made record profits in their last financial year, according to Richard Meadows on Stuff: Banking analysts expect record-breaking profits from the ‘Big Four' Aussie lenders this week, but their local offshoots'…
capital gains capitalism class war cost of living david cunliffe debt / deficit economy gst kiwisaver news russel norman same old national spin thinktank
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The Nats' first reaction to NZ Power was hysterical nonsense about North Korea, the 1970s and communists (just like old times - remember when Key said Working for Families was "communism by stealth!"?). That didn't get them very far. So more recently they (and their…
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John Key has committed to giving up the National Party's leadership (and, presumably, politics altogether) if he loses the next election. That didn't stop him from committing the next National Government from reversing NZ Power and putting up electricity prices when it comes to power…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Former banker Bruce Wills and current head of Federated Farmers has joined the chorus attacking NZPower. He invokes how horrible life was before 1984, as thought this had something to do with NZPower. You can read the full list of his horrors here. Among them…
climate change im/migration Mining poverty referendum uncategorized
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Analogue TV transmissions have now ceased on the mainland (and will have stopped countrywide by December) - the end of an era. I hope we are all recycling our TVs responsibly - this Ministry for the Environment recycling programme is great. It isn't necessary to…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Aotearoa is Not for Sale is counting down to the National Day of Action this Saturday 27 April. Helen Kelly has stated her support for the day of action. “Its really important people attend the rally on Saturday. Selling the assets makes no sense – economic or social. Retaining…
activism assets class war energy infrastructure national/act government privatisation sustainability
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Last week Poverty Watch took a brief detour with a special issue on fuel poverty. This week were'e back with our series on the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCCC) 2012 report "Child Poverty in New Zealand evidence for action". Chapter 3 Our Approach This…
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A year ago the nats announced massive changes to employment law. And then they went quiet. Now with a new Minister of Labour they've decided it's time to move. There's a lot of nasty stuff in the package Simon Bridges tried to sneak in yesterday,…
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In February 2008 Key ignited one of his first media storms with his comment at a business meeting that "we would love to see wages drop". Subsequent events had all the hallmarks of what we now recognise (from too many examples) as classic Key crisis…
capitalism class war employment john key national Unions wages workers' rights
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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National announced their Labour laws today, rolling back all the improvements brought in by the fifth Labour government. There were some new sanctions on workers' right to strike: parties will have to provide notice of a strike, and employers will have a new right to…
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I like my employer, and they're not ungenerous. But I'm pretty sure they wouldn't spend $250,000 on helping me to get another job - and one that I'm a long shot for at that. As Tim Groser's employers, you've got to wonder just how generous…
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Weekend social is for non political chat. What's on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can't we all just get along?
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The changes announced today to employment law represent the most serious attack on the rights of working people to a fair go since 1991. As I wrote on this blog that the Bill will reduce the Employment Relations Act to a farce and the result…
business employment equality jobs minimum wage Unions wages workers' rights
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John Key's explanation of his meetings with Ian Fletcher hide Key's main aims and activities in plain sight. They link to wider activities in relation to US-led initiatives around digital copyright, intellectual property and commerce. In relation to this, away from the glare of NZ's MSM there have been some significant recent…
accountability capitalism copyright democracy under attack internet john key national slippery spin telecommunications trade us politics
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I/S at No Right Turn on the strange disappearance of the Electoral Commission recommendations on MMP. Soon it will be too late to have changes in place for 2014... MMP review: Running down the clock Last year, the Electoral Commission presented its review of MMP [PDF]. But…
accountability election 2014 electoral commission electoral systems MMP scoundrels
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Today's Dominion Post anonymous editorial is an interesting one: it constructs some false equivalences; it glosses over the role of the MSM in providing an extended honeymoon halo for John Key; it glosses over the significance of Key's GCSB cover ups; however, it does point to the…
accountability brand key capitalism democracy under attack john key Minister for Photo-ops national news slippery spin Spying us politics
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Time after time after time we have seen variations on the same theme - without competent regulation things go wrong. It doesn't matter whether the lack of regulation comes about as a result of specific policy decisions or of lack of resources to do a…