Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Labour has indicated that as a priority it wishes to repeal the Hobbit law, a clumsy attempt in breach of International Law to prevent workers in the film industry from organising collectively and to divert attention from the fact that the National Government had been played by Warner Brothers.
The predictable reactions of regional and world leaders.
An update from Professor Jane Kelsey on the TPPA-11, a look at the issues for the new Labour-led government, and reasons why we still need to be concerned.
Our land needs threefold protection.
Julie Anne Genter as the new Minister for Women is likely to revisit a private members bill that would advance pay equity in NZ.
Lawyer and journalist Catriona MacLennan explains the details of a case before the High Court this week. Anyone who wants to understand how the Ministry of Social Development and WINZ are utterly failing as a government department needs to read this.
Truckers don’t own the roadways. We do. If Ken Shirley wants a stricter adherence to user pays, then he should start with his trucking members. In the meantime the best thing we can do for improving the roading network is to get large trucks off of the road – they damage it way too much.
Do we want to be owned by capitalism and stay in its trap of wage and debt slavery, or do we want to boldly go to post-capitalism, whatever that might be.
National’s roads of national significance programme looks to be no more with an early casualty being the East West Link in Auckland, which per kilometre was destined to be the most expensive transport project the world has ever seen.
Yum! That would make for generations of ecstatic kids, no?
This post is too long to read. Its purpose is to serve as reference material, a “one stop” snapshot of where we are as a country. The mess that the new government inherits. The consequences of the nine long wasted years of National. The magnitude of the challenge ahead of us.
Extra sweet this year.
Long time Unionist and Labour supporter Don Presland died last week. Family friend Ad writes about Don’s decades of standing up for workers’ rights and in celebration of the life of a really good man.
An unsung hero of the civilised burn.
If you missed it last night – Jacinda Ardern’s first speech as PM elect is everything that we could want and expect. But the take-home line of the drama belongs to Winston Peters.
Most viewed story on the Guardian website today: “New Zealand library cracks case of missing books.” Turns out some of Auckland’s 23,000 homeless were hiding bookmarked books in odd places so they wouldn’t lose their place. The library will now keep their books safe. Good on them. Finding homes for homeless must be a high priority for Aotearoa’s next government.
…the past 70 years of economic theory and practice. (h/t Adam)
A post about the responsibility to advocate for change in a visible way.
Helen Kelly died a year ago today. She is missed.
Dunedin hosts a celebratory graduation ceremony for discarded labour.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it now favours higher taxes on the rich and has demolished the myth this might adversely affect […]
When you run an economy that sees harm to babies as acceptable risks that can be mitigated, then you are approaching society’s end game.
Newsroom (Shane Cowlishaw) reports that the Nats were considering significant hikes to fuel taxes, described in a document that was supposed to be released before the election – but somehow wasn’t.
Policy is everything, Winston Peters said today. This should not be a surprise. Before every election, he has refused to give any hint of Party support preference until after the vote. But he will have thought a lot about what he might want, as it has long been clear that his Party would decide the outcome. So what are his policies?
Gross political incompetence, not immigration, is what lies behind and beneath New Zealand’s infra-structure problems. Only a excited donkey’s dick waving in a stiff breeze might point accusingly towards immigrants and immigration as the problem.
A tongue in cheek list of reasons why it may be best for National to form the next Government.
I suspect that ETS has become a political football in the next parliament, but probably not part of a coalition agreement with either National or Labour. My guess is that both NZ First and the Greens will want it off the table unless it is agreed that it will go. That leaves them able to vote against further stupid patches being added to it.
Anarchism and democracy.
“It is not okay that nearly everyone I have advocated for at WINZ, has broken down in tears during appointments and have often been close to a panic attack. Most people I advocate for at WINZ unanimously tell me it is a humiliating and utterly defeating experience.” – political writer and community activist Chloe King.
There is no “strong and stable” government to “lead” us. Maximum uncertainty! No end in sight! According to received wisdom (and all those people in a self-interested rush to ordain the born-to-rule-party) the market should be panicking! In fact…
The Standard regular Incognito writes about the unique voice the Greens bring to NZ politics and why a coalition deal with National would be the end of that.
A short film about a Wairarapa organic farm using Community Supported Agriculture to bypass agribusiness control of the market and sell direct to customers.
National’s one and only strategy this election was lying about Labour, specifically Labour’s budget and their tax policy. The $11.7bn hole lie just made the Nats look stupid, but the evidence suggests that the tax lie did real damage. Why are we so angry about tax and so apathetic about the much more important issue of low pay?
You can stop the silly chat now media – the Greens can’t go into coalition with National because of their members, their social polices… but mainly because of their environmental policies.
SaveMart employees were made to sort bales of filthy clothing dumped in Child Cancer charity bins without safety gloves. Unionized workers at New Lynn were sacked for contacting their union about it. Why did it require so much public pressure to get them reinstated? Why are our laws so inadequete?
During the election campaign elements of the farming community protested the possibility of a water tax and of farming being in the ETS on the basis the sector could not afford it. In awkward news it has since come to light that the Chief Executive of Fonterra and senior executives are being paid huge salaries.
