No Right Turn points to potential unacceptable changes in the basis of our foreign policy and the deployment of our armed forces. Since 1945, New Zealand's foreign policy has been based around a commitment to international law, collective security, and UN peacekeeping. Since 1972, and…
This site frequently has opinions from authors and comments promoting promoting political positions and telling people who they should vote for or not vote for, and why. Because of whining in previous election periods by some of the more obnoxious fools around the blogosphere, you'll…
So conservative right wing voters. Had a guts full of National abandoning their principles? Have you had enough of their arrogance and their refusal to follow the asset sales referendum (although the anti-smacking referendum was frankly rather confusing). Had enough of the two waka Government? Want…
Hi there. I'm James Macbeth Dann, the author of the blog Rebuilding Christchurch. You may have read it, as sometimes bits of it get quoted here. Or you may have just found your way over to the site. Anyway, I'll be joining the authors here,…
Rob Salmond at Polity looks at the Herald poll published this morning and looks at what ground the left has to make up. Over recent polls the right vote appears to have been consolidating more and more strongly behind National over the course of this…
No Right Turn highlights the problem of police and security forces who often seem to consider themselves to be beyond the law. Their propensity towards excessive surveillance of people who are following peaceful and legal paths towards societal change without any evidence is rather legendary amongst activists…
David Cunliffe and David Parker have announced Labour's Kiwisaver Policy for the election. Details are here. The headlines are: KiwiSaver will be made universal for all workers apart from the self employed. Students, beneficiaries and those with an income below a yet to be set level…
The storm that raged through NZ last Tuesday night-Wednesday morning got major news coverage on Wednesday. There was much reporting of power cuts, floods, and wind damage to start with. Then, after most households elsewhere in Auckland had their power reconnected, the news media seemed…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
Poor David Farrar, he can't write a post without getting accused of hypocrisy these days. It must have to do with that rancid stench he emanates whenever he gets on his high horse to lecture others.. Here is Rob Salmond at Polity. Here is Hypocrisysmeller Persuivant David…
The Middle East has been in the news recently for all of the wrong reasons. Syria has been disintegrating as the the effects of a brutal civil war become more pronounced. It started in March 2011 after protests against President Bashar al-Assad, inspired by uprisings…
Rob Salmond at Polity approves of the Internet Party's stand on electoral reform. Especially because he was mentioned in it :) Here is an Internet Party initiative I thoroughly approve of (Also on TV3): Who do we want to petition? The NZ House of Representatives. What do…
Reposted from bsprout at Local Bodies. I have attempted numerous time to comment on Ele Ludemann's Home Paddock blog in response to her post on Free Trade Agreements and promoting the false perception that they are vital to our economy. While I can't imagine that Ele would be deliberately…
This morning I was reading the Transport Blog on The Draft 2015-2025 Government Policy Statement released by the Ministry of Transport. This is the main starting point for a number of the transport planning documents over the coming decade(s). Ignoring the questions about the climate change…
The most important thing that needs to be learned is that money is nothing. Or, to be more precise, money is a tool that can be used to distribute the resources available to a society. In and of itself it has no value nor does…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
My weekend viewing highlighted the differences in power and resources available to the top percentage of wealthy international banksters, and the powerless people struggling to support young families in NZ. On Al Jazzerra, a special report on "Goldman Sachs: The Bank that Rules the World"…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
A guest post from Poto Williams, Labour's MP for Christchurch East I am attending the Independent Forestry Safety Review consultation and am lucky enough to participate with forest owners, forest managers, contractors and government officials to discuss the factors influencing Health and. Safety in the…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
So it appears the intended non-partisan deeper engagement with politicians that is the Otago University Vote Chat has been taken over by the National Party. This is very disappointing as you expect academic independence from universities, not a partisan production. The 3 Producers are local…
Rob Salmond at Polity on what has landed in his mail box paid for by your GST and also close to the wrong side the permissible limits of Parliamentary Services funds. Or perhaps this is something for "NZ Taxpayers Union" to moan about wasting taxpayers money…
Wayne Mapp has a post at Pundit "Free trade: The end of the cosy arrangement?" about the possibility of Labour backing away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). For decades now National and Labour have had a cosy little arrangement when it comes to free trade.…
“There seems little prospect for better wage growth if the Reserve Bank is to be believed”, says CTU Economist Bill Rosenberg. “It says the slow wage growth is because of more people wanting jobs, rapid immigration growth, and the high unemployment rate.” “This is a…
Reposted from Imperator Fish. The ACT Party today released its employment relations policy, which focuses on providing both employees and employers with flexibility in how they arrange their workplaces. ACT leader Dr Jamie Whyte said the policy would look to the past in helping New…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
David Farrar in his usual burst of hypocrisy and curious selectiveness about detailed numbers is proclaiming a headline rise in manufacturing. As is usual he is only interested in the top level numbers and doesn't provide a link to even the summary data. I guess…
The Insurance Council and National are desperately trying to pour cold water over Labour's earthquake court policy, a policy which would speed up the backlog of insurance claims and give people a fair chance against the power of the insurance industry. The insurance claims have…
Reposted from Polity. There has been plenty of discussion about electorate "cup of tea" deals recently, in which a large party agrees to give a small party an easy run in an electorate, so that the small party is more-or-less guaranteed seats in Parliament when…