Guest post

Guest post

Guest post

Climate change deniers wallets threatened

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 37 comments

Apparently climate scientist Michael Mann has threatened legal action* against Minnesotans for Global Warming (M4GW) over their video “Hide the Decline.” This used the comment from the “climategate” emails to portray a dishonest and slanderous picture of Mann. The video has been heavily promoted by climate change deniers and conservative groups, news outlets and blogs internationally. Several conservative NZ bloggers promoted the video.

Looks like the loony CCDs have exhausted the toleration of some climate scientists.

Octagon Mine Plans Announced

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 12 comments

The Great National Mining Corporation has chosen Earth Day to announce its plans to seek government approval to mine in Dunedin’s Octagon. Commenting on the irony of the timing of the release of their plans, GNMC spokesman Doug de Houlle said “What better day than Earth Day? The government wants mining and we can move the earth to do it.”

More on Crosby-Textor, mining, and the Nats

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 18 comments

We all know that long before John Key got into the gold and uranium mining industry, Crosby Textor Chairman, Robert J Champion de Crespigny was pushing the mining industry’s cause in New Zealand. So, who is this CT man who has been called Australia’s ‘Mr Gold’, a “mining magnate”, a “resource-sector heavyweight” and “a legend”?

Battlers vs billion dollar banks

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 33 comments

Finsec’s Andrew Campbell introduces the union’s Better Banking, a trans-Tasman campaign they’re running with their Aussie counterparts to get a better deal for bank workers and bank customers. Campbell notes the banks’ $1 billion profit in the last 3 months alone and asks “Have your fees gone down? Has your mortgage payment become more manageable?”

Who Said That?

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 17 comments

Who suggested that the mining industry in New Zealand needed to be reinvigorated and should put more emphasis on marketing its fundamentally strong geological resource, telling the NZ Herald that gold mining prospects in New Zealand were at least as good as anywhere in the world, a fact that needed to be exploited?

Jones and CRU exonerated by parliamentary inquiry

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 31 comments

We were off-air last weekend, so this story got missed.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report into the disclosure of climate data by the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia has just been released.

Turns out that ‘climategate’ was just a pile of hot air and selective story telling by the denialist industry. Wasn’t that unexpected? Yeah right.

DPF doesn’t care about democracy

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 4 comments

Norightturn writes DPF went apeshit about the then-Labour government’s Electoral Finance Act. He vented online, raised funds, even launched billboards. You’d think that with plans to sack an elected council and strip 560,000 people of their vote in regional council elections for four years, as a “defender of democracy”, he’d be similarly outraged.

The Canterbury dictatorship bill

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 39 comments

There are significant risks associated with the Review Group’s recommendation to temporarily suspend planned triennial elections for regional councillors (scheduled for October 2010) and to transfer the functions and responsibilities of Environment Canterbury’s (ECan) elected councillors to government-appointed commissioners until elections in 2013 at the latest. Elections are a right and privilege of any citizen in New Zealand. The suspension of such a right should only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Coromandel mine claims rubbished

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 16 comments

Denis Tegg of Coromandel Watchdog writes that National is vastly over-estimating the mining potential of the Coromandel. It would take hundreds of mines and tens of millions of tonnes of toxic tailings to get the billions promised. The people of Waihi know that despite the wealth dug up from underneath them, their town is mired in poverty and permanently threatened by tailings leaking.

Stand up against ACT attack on students’ associations

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 66 comments

Andrew Campbell reports that Roger Douglas and the ACT party want to change the law so that student associations will be unable to provide the important services and representation that they currently offer by making their membership voluntary. This will put the clubs and services that many universities offer at risk.

The PM’s private spy agency

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 5 comments

While the public has been focusing on the acquittal of the Waihopai Three, there’s been a quiet revolution in our intelligence community. The Prime Minister has got himself a private spy agency.

As well as looking at foreigners, it will also be “assessing”, and advising the government on, the beliefs, actions, and plans of New Zealanders.

The problem is compounded by the lack of oversight.

Tolley losing the plot?

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 14 comments

Anne Tolley put out an odd media statement on Friday. She reckons Trevor Mallard, opposition spokesperson for Education, dominated two public meetings in Auckland on her Government’s unpopular national standards policy. Which begs the question, was she actually all there at either meeting?

The scars of Tui Mine

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 18 comments

My Granddad grew up in Te Aroha near Tui Mine. The mining ruined a large swathe of the land and toxic tailings were left behind which polluted the river and turned a large patch of bush into a desert – it is a scar on the face of my Granddad’s mountain which looks over his grave. As I write this I can hear him reciting this poem:

Lorraine Kerr, National Standards & Schools Money

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 19 comments

Lorraine Kerr, head of the NZ School Trustees Association is one of National’s few supporters on National Standards. She says a survey of boards of trustees gives her a mandate for this position, with only four boards opposing the Standards. Now, she has been forced to admit that only 14 schools were included in the survey result.

Auckland Super City and the American Revolution

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 6 comments

Much of the power in the new Super City will be held by council controlled organisations. These organisations will be responsible for approximately 75% of Auckland services and their unelected directors will have free rein to make important city decisions. The organisations will have no obligation to consult and no responsibility to the public if things go wrong.

Nats resort to plants to help Tolley

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 57 comments

Let’s face facts. Anne Tolley is a dangerous minister. She is undermining the education system at every turn and the damage will last lifetime. But is National doing the responsible thing and removing her from the portfolio? No. In fact, a guest poster reports they’re so desperate to help her out that they’ve got plants in her audiences to ask patsy questions.

Tolley’s road tour

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 22 comments

A guest contributor reports that if you want your chance to quiz Anne Tolley and you live in West Auckland your chance is on Thursday but it sounds like the Nats would rather you didn’t come. Another guest contributor pans Tolley’s meeting last night.

Re:Cycle (re-run)

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 18 comments

We received this guest post about half an hour after John Key announced his cycleway. At the time, the very sensible criticisms it raises were ignored by an enamoured media.

How prescient it looks now, on the anniversary of the Prime Minister’s Jobs Summit.

BLiP View: Crusher missing in action

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 29 comments

BLiP puts his distinctive view on why the police have been losing “the respect of the community” with one of his locally famous lists. He attributes it to ‘Crusher’ Collins and wonders why John Key is cluessly fronting PR wanting stronger sentences for disrespecting police.

Key too busy doing nothing

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 5 comments

Tongue in cheek, George notes: When asked in Parliament why he hadn’t paid closer attention to his share portfolio, Key replied: “small technical issue, I’ve been busy running the country”. That statement must come close to misleading Parliament.

A principal writes

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 86 comments

School principal Pat Newman posted the following as a comment on Red Alert. It’s not a polished piece written with distribution in mind, […]

Keys ‘Master Brand’ marketing.

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 38 comments

The John Key led National Ltd® government lands yet another axe blow on our 100% Pure brand by cancelling a scheme recognised internationally as a best practice model. This latest announcement caps off a busy year for National Ltd® on the environmental front. Its list of actions include spending millions on establishing the 100% Pure Brand as the “Master Brand” of Aotearoa while simultaneously it has:

Time for a Just Transition?

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 15 comments

With so much attention on climate change, and such a lack of concern, urgency and commitment to action from the current Tory government […]

Re-run: Where’s my pony?

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 10 comments

Umm, some posts we get sent are a bit quirky. Enjoy. _____________________________ OK. I’ll confess. I’m one of the ones who fell for […]

Memo from a muppet

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 43 comments

So John Key thinks I’m a Muppet. “[when I’m in Hawaii on holiday] they’ll send me stuff … those Muppets in the background […]

Shame on Labour for backing Goff

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 42 comments

By Andrew Campbell Shame on the Labour caucus. If it’s true that they back Phil Goff’s Nationhood speech without reservations and therefore his […]