The original of this post is here at Polity. Here's an excerpt from an Audrey Young piece in the Herald today yesterday, in which John Key talks about Labour's plan to increase eligibility for free Early Childhood Education: Mr Key cited Labour's promise to increase early…
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The original of this post is here. I spent last Saturday helping out with a cycling promotion in an Invercargill community market. The market occurs monthly and has been largely driven by a community minded, and recently elected city councillor, Rebecca Amundsen to revitalize a less affluent part…
I arrived at the TPPA protest march in Wellington the intent of making my voice heard. The protest started well – enlightening speakers, a funny MC and raucous chanting. However, when we got to parliament, the march was confronted by a waist-high green fence blocking…
I have been following this issue for a while. A couple of months ago I noted that back in February 2010 John Key said that he had a potential solution to solving the whaling crisis which he would discuss with Hillary Clinton and that he would take his…
The IPCC has released its latest report. There are all sorts of more eloquent ways to describe the issue in detail but basically the world's environment is stuffed if we do nothing and there will be extensive devastation unless the human race starts acting now.…
I have enjoyed some of Patrica Grace's novels. The first one I read was Potiki back in the 80s. A review: Plot Summary: A Maori community on the coast of New Zealand is threatened by a land developer who wants to purchase the community property,…
We can now put a dollar figure – a conservative, probably-underestimated figure – on the cost of domestic violence to New Zealand business. That’s due to a report commissed by the Public Service Association, released yesterday in conjunction with a Member’s Bill from Green MP…
The original of this post is here. The TV1 and TV3 polls yesterday show roughly the same situation, which also mirrors Polity's poll of polls. National retains a smallish polling lead over the left bloc of around four points. But Winston Peters and New Zealand First are starting their surge…
The original of this post is here. The NSA's global panopticon hasn't caught any actual terrorists yet. But it does seem to be killing the cloud computing industry: The vast scale of online surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden is changing how businesses store commercially sensitive…
There's significant information available about the destructive impact of high levels of income inequalities, on people's lives and democratic processes. Many Kiwis feel its impact. How can the public be better informed about the causes of, and remedies for income inequalities and related differences in…
Just spent a pleasant couple of hours in "The Goose" in Walthamstow watching Liverpool outclass Spurs 4-0 to go top of the Premier League table. I've supported Liverpool since I lived in England in the late 1960's. Nobody gave them a chance at the start…
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Two new polls have just been released and to be frank the results are not bad. TV3 Reid Research has National at 45.9%, up slightly on the last poll result which seemed low, Labour on 31.2%, the Greens on 11.2% and NZ First on 4.9%.…
For your Sunday morning reading here are three articles that in an interesting way are interrelated and deal with climate change, the issue that will not go away. Firstly from Climate Progress a simple graphic that shows how strange the political debate has become. Just…
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Maybe this is one of those open political secrets – if you’re in the know, you already know, and it seems obvious. If you’re not, it’s a total mystery. Just who is the MP Kim Dotcom has ready and waiting to jump waka in 2014?…
It has been announced that the Kauri killer disease Kauri Dieback, or Phytophthora Taxon Agathis to use its scientific name, has now been spread to the Coromandel. The prospects of Kauri becoming extinct have become greater. It has infected many Kauri out west and throughout…
For a long time, many of us on the left knew it was happening. The National Party has been feeding its pet bloggers, and some tame mainstream (MSM) journalists with its smear lines. Now it has been publicly outed, and some in the MSM seem…
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No Right Turn kind of nails the value of the Internet Party in this post. In itself it probably isn't that politically useful. However it's mere existence means that the net becomes a political issue. It forces the typically technophobic and illiterate pack of antiques…
Local Bodies well-researched post showed how much our public education system has been undermined by the current government: In 2008 New Zealand was internationally ranked in the top seven for educational achievement, and when you compared us with other countries that were also culturally diverse…
Yesterday No Right Turn did a post on how Graeme Douglas became Sir Graeme Douglas by looking at his donations donating heavily to the National party after being gonged. But this other post on the same overall subject was more interesting. It is no wonder that National…
Rob Salmond looks at the Internet Party's launch and rather shallow vision. Is this politics? Credit to the internet party: the app worked a treat, with reportedly over 400 people signing up already. This should create a second or third day news story about getting…
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This post by bsprout was on LocalBodies during the weekend. It needs a wider exposure. In 2008 New Zealand was internationally ranked in the top seven for educational achievement, and when you compared us with other countries that were also culturally diverse and were experiencing…
And now for something completely different ... Throughout the asset sales programme the mythical "mum and dad" investors have been held up as the reason why what appears to be in economic terms a very silly idea was actually very sound. The Government has claimed…
On this day in 1984 a suitcase bomb was left in the Wellington Trades Hall. At 5:19 it detonated, killing Ernie Abbott, the caretaker. The bomber has never been caught, despite a massive police investigation and a reward of $50,000 offered for information. We don't…
No Right Turn put this up on tuesday. It is worth re-running it to note how a smear campaign operates at multiple layers. Since their botched raid on Kim Dotcom's mansion last year, the New Zealand government has faced a PR problem over their handling…