Schools Out?
…in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Australia, Canada….
Economy
Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
National wants there to be no unions
Dan Bidois this week in Parliament confirmed what we have always known, that National want there to be no unions around.
TERFed Out: UPDATED
Labour MP Louisa Wall has written an opinion piece in response to Herald columnist Rachel Stewart’s attack earlier in the week on the trans community and their LGBTIQ+ allies. It’s very good.
UPDATE: Rachel Stewart, as predicted, has blocked me on twitter. But not before going full on racist.
Spooked!
The GCSB ban on Spark’s use of Huawei technology means this government has gone from “honest broker” to poodle in a very short time. Pressure has been applied by the US and others, apparently fearing we are the “soft underbelly” of the Five Eyes spy network. Maybe its time we got out of that too – it was designed for war.
No sense, nonsense and a dearth of common sense.
We wouldn’t tie a rope to a heavy load and then push on the rope with the expectation of achieving anything, right? So why is the Guardian’s Environment Editor entreating that we do just that? Is he merely stupid? Or is there something more cynical at play?
The bigotry of lemmings – the China scare
I can’t think of the number of countless times that I have seen scare stories about someone wanting to take over this society and/or the world. Sometimes they are even correct about intent, but usually they are not. Usually the difference between what is insinuated and whatever facts are known makes those making such insinuations just look like attention-seeking nuts.
Employment Law Changes; A Win for the Workers
The Labour Party sponsored amendments to the Employment Relations Act are a step closer to becoming law. That’s a good thing for working people and a good thing for coalition politics.
National and its no tax promises
National have got out the old “no new taxes” songbook and are singing it as loudly as they can.
Twyford’s big announcement
The government has just announced the creation of the most massive and powerful housing and land development agency that we have ever seen.
#IStandWithHarry
Harry Leslie Smith, the 95 year old socialist Twitter star, is seriously ill in a Canadian hospital.
#IStandWithHarry
Political interference
China certainly has interfered in New Zealand politics, most notably by the offer of a free trade deal which delivered huge benefits to our economy. Party and government officials all stressed to us that they were grateful for New Zealand’s support for their accession to the World Trade Organisation, the rule-based trade body. The US and Australia in contrast want to build a military base on Manus Island north of Papua.
Another day and more Simon Bridges f*&k ups
Simon Bridges has in the last 24 hours blamed Labour law changes for increasing rentals but has forgotten which ones, and has disagreed that an apology is owed to the families of the Pike River miners on the 8th anniversary of the disaster.
Go Bus Lockout; Hypocrites Ngai Tahu and Tainui Screw Workers
Ngai Tahu and Tainui remind us that they like exploiting working people as much as the next capitalist. They’ve locked out their Waikato bus drivers for asking to be paid the Living Wage.
Will Andrew Little be responsible if the Pike River mine gets hit by a meteor?
Stacy Kirk has made the outlandish claim that Andrew Little is prepared to risk someone’s life in his desire to have the Pike River mine properly investigated.
What happens if housing prices really go down?
So what if Labour decides to go ahead with its capital gains tax? What happens to the equity of the remaining middle class? What happens to the equity of those who were brought in under KiwiBuild?
Climate Action Heating Up.
Yet another front opening up in the demand for action on global warming…
Israeli Cabinet Resignation.
Avigdor Lieberman has resigned his position as Israeli Defense Minister because he can’t endorse the government’s “surrender to terrorism”.
Pike River; Victory For the Families, Victory for Us
Pike River mine is to be re-entered and finally the truth will be told. Victory for the 29 is victory for all of us.
Alaska or New Zealand?
That’s the big question ‘big’ people are asking these days.
Electricity again
It is time for the Government to down the electricity corporates and regulate them in the interests of the citizen.
Proxy Music
Jami-Lee Ross has passed his proxy vote to NZ First, elevating waka jumping to an Olympic sport. How bad does it have to get before the Tory caucus puts Simon Bridges out of his misery?
Too many jobs being created
The latest unemployment data showing the jobless rate falling to under 4% follows the equally bad 1.0% economic growth in the September quarter and a budget surplus of $5.5b, confirming the economy is going down like Donald Trump, as predicted by the ANZ Bank’s business confidence survey
KiwiBuild doesn’t fly.
More than that, it needs to be torn down before it makes a serious bid at flight.
Labour Party Conference 2018
It’s conference time! The NZ Labour party is into it’s second century and into Government. What can we expect from this weekend’s hui in Dunedin and what policies and positions do Standard readers think need to be pushed?
Getting rid of bitcoin could help save the planet
There is a rather simple way for the world to do something significant about climate change and global warming. All that we have to do is work out how to get rid of bitcoin.
Our rail revival
Yesterday the government announced that it was reversing the previous government’s decision to kill off the electric trains. The decision is one of many recently made that suggests that the future of rail is bright.
Brazil, Brexit, Trump…with more to come.
When orders collapse, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. We’re making it a bad thing.
National badly wants Kiwibuild to crash
National is complaining that Labour is not solving the National imposed housing crisis quickly enough.
Green Growth
Shade it any colour you like…
Lime Sour
Lime scooters are this year’s finger spinner. The problem is that unlike last year’s must have toy, e-scooters are a public menace.
Ross saga quiescent, but donations scandal needs addressing
The Jami-Lee Ross scandal may have quietened down but issues raised by his explosive tape recording of Simon Bridges still need addressing. Does the $100k Zhang Yikun donation suggest we are going down the US track and, if so, what needs to be done about that
Power and Knowledge.
We say that knowledge is power…
Oil and morality
The death of Jamal Khashoggi raises the important question can we still question the morality of Saudi Arabia?
Happy Labour Day
We’ve written a bit about Labour Day over the years – see the archives for the origins, history, and importance of the day. Enjoying your […]
The Mariana Trench Fix.
The Mariana Trench is pretty huge. And deep. And if the idea is to fill a hole in the ground with ‘stuff’, then it’s a fair sized hole to be filling, right?
Jami-Lee Ross: But Wait, There’s More!
Jami-Lee Ross has twisted the knife a little further into Simon Bridge’s back this arvo, releasing a second tape and announcing he won’t be quitting Parliament. Turns out he may need the income to fund a divorce.