UNICEF has another major report ranking the wellbeing of NZ kids 34th out of 41 developed countries. This is not new news, and apparently a lot of voters just don’t give a damn.
The politics of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Those arguing for unrestricted immigration are – wittingly or unwittingly – fueling higher levels of exploitation in NZ.
Something to check out if you are in Auckland tonight, the CTU’s Bill Rosenberg discusses the budget. He will “examine the Government’s priorities and look at what needs to be done”.
The Sunday Star Times had some gut wrenching coverage of the conditions in some of Auckland’s slum boarding houses. How can anyone vote for three more years of this?
A wee bit of speculation for a long week-end.
Part of an occasional series. It all seems to be going according to plan.
One of the nasty little fishhooks in the budget was the cutting of the home insulation scheme (Warm Up New Zealand). The scheme had a benefit-cost ratio of $6 for every $1 invested. Around 1,600 people die in NZ a year of cold-related factors. Hope the tax cuts are worth it eh?
Bill English knows that our low wage economy is a ticking time-bomb for the government. He must be starting to get worried. The repeated promises of jam tomorrow are well worn out now.
Wondering about what the Greens are voting for? It might not be what you think.
How nice of the government to help out property investors.
Rohan Lord this week pulled out from being a Labour candidate because he thought his prospects of being elected were remote because he was a white middle class male. His comments displayed a complete lack of understanding of how the Labour Party works and ignores the fact that having a truly representative caucus is a virtue.
Campbell: “As I asked Joyce at the Budget lockup: ‘What is to stop landlords from treating this increase as a green light to hike up rents?’ … In reply, Joyce said that the government would be ‘keeping an eye’ on landlords, to ensure they did not abuse the situation.”
I/S at No Right Turn writes: “The Court has ruled that the High Court was right to declare that National’s 2010 prisoner voting restrictions (the ones which were so shabby and shoddily passed that they brought Parliament into disrepute) were inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act“
It was National’s best budget. Which means there are only three critical areas of failure.
A useful piece from Keith Ng on myths about tax. It’s an extract from The PSA’s “Progressive Thinking: Ten Perspectives on Tax” booklet.
Budget Day.
I don’t know of a single piece written in support of Bennett’s proposal. She has been in the bubble too long, and lost touch with the values of NZ.
National does the bare minimum that it thinks it can get away with for those in need. This positioning is just preparing the ground for a budget that does more the same not enough.
Richard Harman on the Politik blog: “Overall, to use a favourite Government saying, it was an ‘untidy’ weekend capped by a flat speech from English which saw delegates ignore placards they’d been given to wave when he finished speaking.” The B-team is missing John Key.
Labour has set the cat among the property speculator pigeons, and they don’t like it at all.
Directing welfare spending where it will do most good makes sense. But let’s make sure that that is what it is, not an excuse to simply cut funding, stigmatise, and target “undesireables”. National’s record does not inspire confidence, to say the very least. Then there’s the hypocrisy…
Good work by Lane Nichols in The Herald, a window into the minds of what we must hope is small subset of “property investors”.
I/S at No Right Turn writes: “The CPI is out today, and it shows that the poor are getting poorer … This is a long-term trend. Since National took office, inflation for poor households has been nearly twice that of rich households.”
“There are approximately 92,700 Kiwis aged between 15 and 24 who aren’t working, in education or training. That’s up 19 percent during National’s time in power, and Prime Minister Bill English admits he’s not sure why.” Could it be because…
Pencilsword does brilliant analysis and commentary in cartoon form. Go check out the latest on the invisible rental crisis…
Am I the only one who is upset, over mealy mouthed politicians making flowery speeches saying “We will remember them”
when they manifestly don’t.
In the warm afterglow of the huge wage increase for health care workers the case for addressing NZ’s creaking low-wage economy is getting some recognition (along with the effect of immigration on wages).
I took myself along to Dunedin’s March for Science last Saturday. There was a high point.
Funny how the Nats can always find millions for vanity projects – and sweet FA for the homeless.
In something over 24 hours time from now, the results from the first round of the French Presidential elections will be in.
“He says neo-liberalism has failed and suggests unions should have a stronger voice. He says Treaty of Waitangi settlements may not be full and final and that Māori language tuition should be compulsory in primary schools.”
The day after Kristine Bartlett’s and the SFWU’s well deserved pay equity victory the Government has released for consultation draft legislation the effect of which would be to stop similar victories occurring in the future.
Former Trump supporter speaks Her Truth
The People’s Mental Health Review report puts the deterioration of our mental health system firmly in the spotlight. Despite a 60 per cent increase in demand since 2007/08 National has been slashing funding. Lives are at risk.
National is trying to give the impression that it settled the pay equity case out of the goodness of its heart. The reality is that the Unions forced it to settle through gritted teeth.
