The Standard

Author Archive

What was National’s role in the police raid on Nicky Hager?

Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, December 18th, 2015 - 130 comments

Justice Clifford’s decision that the police raid of Nicky Hager’s home was illegal raises serious questions about what political pressure was applied on the police.

Apparently solar panels suck up all the sun’s energy and cause cancer

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, December 16th, 2015 - 59 comments

Elected representatives in Woodland North Carolina were persuaded by arguments that solar panels were sucking up all of the sun’s energy, were preventing plants from photosynthesising and were causing cancer to ban a proposed solar panel farm.

John Key is relaxed about COP21

Written By: - Date published: 3:09 pm, December 14th, 2015 - 34 comments

The Government has responded to the COP21 convention agreement with the suggestion that little will need to change. And John Key has put the likely annual cost of fulfilling our pledge at less than a tenth of the figure that Tim Groser has used.

COP21 and the implications for New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, December 13th, 2015 - 56 comments

COP21 has set the benchmark, no greater than 1.5 degrees increase in global temperatures. But current national pledges suggest that the world is on track for at least 3 degrees.  And if New Zealand’s effort was replicated throughout the world the increase would be more like 4 degrees or more.  So what should New Zealand be doing?

New Zealand wins fossil of the day award – again

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, December 11th, 2015 - 43 comments

For a small country New Zealand is certainly punching above its weight.  It has been awarded a second fossil of the day award by the Climate Action Network.

Sayonara Serco

Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, December 9th, 2015 - 80 comments

Serco’s contract to run the Mt Eden Corrections Facility will not be renewed when it expires next year.

Donald Trump does not like muslims

Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, December 8th, 2015 - 64 comments

Donald J Trump may have reached peak craziness or peak political opportunism with his call to ban all Muslims from entering America.

Paula Bennett, Climate Change Minister?

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, December 8th, 2015 - 68 comments

Despite having no scientific background, no relevant experience and no related portfolios Paula Bennett is the new Minister in charge of Climate Change Issues.

Key should apologise to Tania Billingsley and Slater should be ashamed

Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, December 6th, 2015 - 72 comments

The disputed facts case involving Tania Billingsley’s complaint against the Malaysian Diplomat suggests the diplomat was engaged in some bizarre drug induced behaviour and completely exonerates Ms Billingsley.  John Ken will have to reconsider his petty refusal to apologise to her.  And Murray McCully’s actions will be closely monitored as soon as the completed report into the invocation of diplomatic immunity is released.

#Sheepgate – but wait there’s more

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, December 4th, 2015 - 28 comments

At the same time that there is an Auditor General’s investigation into the appropriateness of the Government spend on the sheep farm in the middle of a Saudi desert the Government has announced a further spend of $2.6 million on a kit set abattoir.  And the resumption of live exports by ship may be in the pipeline.

The great greenhouse gas research funding switcherooni

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, December 2nd, 2015 - 19 comments

John Key has announced an increase in funding on research into the reduction of agricultural emissions of greenhouse gasses of $20 million over four years or $5 million a year.  Which is the amount the Government cut from this research two months ago.

Corbyn – no convincing case for UK bombing of Syria

Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, November 27th, 2015 - 27 comments

An alternative view to Te Reo Putake’s post concerning Jeremy Corbyn and the bombing of Syria.

How many prospective state house tenants hate birds chirping?

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, November 26th, 2015 - 46 comments

The answer is at least one.

Why the ETS Review needs to include agriculture

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, November 25th, 2015 - 26 comments

John Key has stated that within three to four years New Zealand’s scientists will have a solution for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. If this is correct why has the Government just released a discussion paper on the ETS ruling out agricultural emissions because there are no practical technologies available to reduce them?

Housing NZ refers homeless to CAB for emergency housing

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, November 24th, 2015 - 28 comments

If this was not so tragic it would be absurd.  Radio New Zealand has reported this morning that CABs are receiving referrals from Housing New Zealand of people requiring emergency housing.

Phil Goff for Super City Mayor

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, November 23rd, 2015 - 42 comments

Phil Goff has formally announced that he is seeking the Auckland Super City Mayoralty as an independent.

The People’s climate march

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, November 22nd, 2015 - 41 comments

Nationwide protest marches are planned in New Zealand on November 28 in the run up to the Paris Climate Change talks to give the message to world leaders that real action to address climate change is required.

Towards banana republic status

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 19th, 2015 - 43 comments

National has passed legislation with retrospective effect under urgency to change previous legislation also passed under urgency so that the law says what it thinks the law should have said, despite the existing law being abundantly clear.

Removing Beneficiary rights retrospectively

Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, November 17th, 2015 - 309 comments

There is a suggestion that the Government may move to retrospectively take away the rights of beneficiaries and former beneficiaries to claim for benefits properly owing to them.

A Government of spin redux

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, November 16th, 2015 - 26 comments

The Herald has withdrawn a story that reported on Government pressure on the ERO to rewrite a report after what appears to be pressure from the Government to do so.

Scoop’s second Hager document release

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, November 15th, 2015 - 98 comments

Scoop has released a second collection of documents from the Hager v Attorney General case.  Among them is comment by a former Police Commissioner expressing surprise at the amount of resources put into the case and the involvement of a senior member of the Police Executive.

A government of spin

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, November 14th, 2015 - 52 comments

Two recent articles suggest that this Government is more interested in spin and PR than in achieving good.  And one of the articles previously posted in the Herald has mysteriously disappeared.

There are no kiwi rapists on Christmas Island

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, November 12th, 2015 - 169 comments

John Key’s claim that Labour and Greens support the rapists on Christmas Island has struck a snag. There are none.  And the brave action of progressive women MPs talking publicly about the sexual abuse they have suffered has shown how morally bankrupt Key’s politics are.

New Zealand needs a new Speaker

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, November 11th, 2015 - 85 comments

David Carter’s refusal to rule John Key’s “backing the rapists” comment out of order raises issues about his ability to properly do the job of speaker.

The Christmas Island riots

Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, November 10th, 2015 - 99 comments

The barbaric treatment of New Zealand citizens by the Australian Government ought to attract condemnation and urgent diplomatic representations. But nothing is happening. Surely this is a time that John Key should get some guts. But instead of this he has accused the opposition of supporting rapists. Updated with video from Question one in Parliament today.

Maori Television’s receptionists

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, November 10th, 2015 - 18 comments

Two liked and respected receptionists at Maori Television have lost their jobs because they are not fluent in Te Reo.  But half of the executive are also not fluent speakers yet they retain their jobs.

The free market’s inability to handle climate change

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, November 8th, 2015 - 150 comments

Two recent events, one involving a WTO challenge to India’s subsidy for local Solar Panel manufacturers and the other the local review of New Zealand’s electricity grid suggest that the free market is not the best mechanism to use to create sustainable electricity supply.

Which Labour Party Conference is Brook Sabin at?

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, November 7th, 2015 - 148 comments

Brook Sabin has suggested that the Labour Party conference is in crisis following the release of the TPP text. He must be at a different conference to the one that I am at.

Whaleoil shall overcome

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, November 3rd, 2015 - 116 comments

Cameron Slater has had his advertising income from Google cut off for stating that the only solution is to kill adherants of the Islamic faith before they kill us. And he thinks that fundamental rights are involved …

Is this our brighter future?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 3rd, 2015 - 44 comments

This morning’s media has reports of increased domestic violence being reported by beneficiaries and an increase of the time and resources the police are having to put into helping the mentally unwell.  And record profits earned by the Australian banks.

Dear Stuart Nash

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, November 2nd, 2015 - 357 comments

Stuart Nash has criticised members of the Labour and this blog for having open and occasionally forceful debate.