Padding pockets, not houses
Just a month into the Government’s housing insulation programme and John Key has had to launch an inquiry into rorting by contractors who […]
Marty G
Double dipping
No, not another post about Bludger Bill, this one’s about that thing that he and Key are meant to be taking care of. […]
Unambitious for New Zealand
If ever there were a sentence that summed up our collective folly it’s “Scientific opinion is that a reduction of 40 per cent […]
Save the climate, raise our albedo
Dark material gets warmer in sunlight than light-coloured or white material. Heat energy enters our atmosphere after light strikes the surface of the […]
Time for tory charity?
Following the success of TV3’s ‘Big Night In’ Telethon which raised over $2 million for KidsCan, I was thinking there are others that […]
Unemployment back to English’s ‘realistic’ level
Who said this? “if we continue with National’s policies over the next three years we will be able to create another 115,000 jobs […]
Greens show the way forward
The Greens have presented a sensible and feasible plan to reduce our greenhouse emissions to 40% less than 1990 levels by 2020. Contrary […]
Less work, less pay for Kiwis
Today the Household Labour Force Survey, which includes the official measure of unemployment, will be out. The headline number is expected to be […]
Why don’t they just stop ripping us off?
Key admits his ministers are rorting the system – exploiting the allowance not for need but just because it gives them a chance […]
The lies keep coming
Read this: Hon Phil Goff: What analysis did Treasury do on the cost-effectiveness of the national cycleway scheme in producing jobs, and is […]
Sshhh! You’ll make the economy cry
John Key says we shouldn’t be talking about the number of people going on to the dole. He reckons that mentioning the fact that […]
Taxing debate
Treasury’s man on the tax reform working group, Professor Norman Gemmell, has laid out some changes that Treasury would like to see: GST […]
Something dodgy in Dipton
Bill English is unrepentant over his $47,000 a year rort of the ministers’ Wellington accommodation allowance. He is claiming the allowance, which is […]
Double standards
Paula Bennett has claimed nearly $22,000 in six months for her Wellington accommodation. That’s more, just for a second home Bennett uses maybe half the […]
I don’t think so
National and Act getting ready to sell our assets. Don McGlashan, joining Phil Twyfords ‘Not Yours To Sell’ campaign, says ‘I don’t think […]
Get ready for more over-promise, under-deliver
Tomorrow John Key will be announcing policies on youth unemployment. Looks like rehashing of the already announced Youth Guarantee and probably something more. […]
Use of weapons
I’ve been thinking about the different ways ministers from the Left and the Right approach governing. I think it goes back to where […]
Chilling effect
I’m frankly a little surprised at the way the media and The Herald especially has jumped on the attack the victim bandwagon in […]
In bed with bigotry
Maori Party MP Rahui Katene’s Matariki Public Holiday Bill was before the House last night (I understand National is planning to vote it down […]
Coverage round-up: Bully Bennett
Sean Plunkett: Being vocal in a democracy shouldn’t mean you lose your rights and protections under the law. Tracey Watkins: “The Privacy Commissioner […]
Recovery nightmare
‘A nightmare’ scenario. That’s how ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie speaking on Morning Report described the outlook for the economy as the recession […]
Beware of unbridled government
‘Beware’ that was Mary Wilson’s conclusion to her interview with Paula Bennett yesterday. The audio is here: Beware of Bully Bennett – Beware […]
Spin cycle
Normally, $9 million in government spending is such a puny amount it’s not worth covering but as Key has nailed his crediblity to […]
Nice try, Roger
Sir Roger Douglas has a go at my post that looks at the GDP per person gap between Australia and New Zealand and concludes […]
‘Green-shoots’ wither in UK
Like New Zealand, the UK has had a deluge of ‘green-shoots’ news from the corporate media and the financiers desperate to jawbone the […]
Govt opts for weak climate change target
As expected, the Key Government has decided not to listen to the scientists on climate change. Rather than the 40% reduction in emissions […]
Sunday reading: Life in sub-prime America
Exiled Online, a US site, has excellent coverage of the recession and the sub-prime crisis from a ground-level view. Yasha Levine moved to […]
Coated in privatisation pixie dust
I like Colin Espiner’s writing. He’s got he best of the journo blogs. He’s focussed on issues rather than politicking. But does he […]
Back to the future: electricity privatisation
Bill English says he doesn’t much care whether monopolies or businesses with monopolistic power are owned by private companies or the Government does. He doesn’t […]
More facts on the table
Now, yesterday a couple of righties didn’t want to believe the evidence in front of their eyes that the GDP per person gap […]
Left needs to unite in Supercity race
A UMR poll out yesterday suggests that Len Brown, currently mayor of Manukau, would be the Left candidate with the best chance of winning […]
The reform that wasn’t there
Justice Minister Simon Power: I believe we need to have an open debate about the way in which sexual violence cases are conducted. […]
Justice, provocation, and the media
Provocation is a partial defence to a charge of murder. It reduces murder to manslaughter if the jury accepts that actions of the […]
Those who don’t learn from history…
Supposedly, we need Don Brash and a gang of his right-wing cohorts to tell us how to close the wealth gap with Australia. […]
Same old failed ideas
The Government’s 2025 ‘productivity’ taskforce led by Don Brash will almost certainly come up with all the same old failed ideas that got […]
No more excuses, time to act
Greenpeace and others are campaigning for the Government to agree to a target of 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by […]