Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
In America Donald Trump has abandoned business think tanks that he established not that long ago. During the last Labour Government Helen Clark established the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board with mixed results. What should a Jacinda Ardern led Labour-Green coalition do?
Expect plenty of Nat boasting on “the economy” in the election campaign. They’ll be desperate to hide the inconvenient fact that ordinary workers are going backwards.
A must read Guest Post for anyone thinking about poverty and welfare this election – a former social scientist turned welfare beneficiary speaks out on WINZ’s state-sponsored neglect of more than 84,000 long-term disabled New Zealanders.
350 Aotearoa and the Green Party on the $950 million removal from high-risk fossil fuel investments.
A week of action to support all Kiwis getting a fair go at work.
A list of Labour’s announced policies to date and an easy way to compare them to other parties’ policies.
Punitive welfare settles into a new low.
National has announced its policy to deal with youth crime by reannouncing a military service scheme that already exists, proposing a special category for young offenders that will have some young people seek that status and by proposing to fine parents who can’t keep their kids home at night.
CTU President Richard Wagstaff writes on today’s actions about his opposition to the government attempt to dismember the historic decision in the Court of Appeal for pay equity by Kristine Bartlett and E tū. National has distorted the recommendations of the Joint Working Group to restrict or even eliminate equal pay for equal work.
In the interests of keeping it simple, an obvious fact or two and a basic proposition.
“We will not forget the thousands of you who came to us with your stories of hardship”
Two polls out tonight show a big surge for Labour and Jacinda Ardern. But we need a strong Green vote too. To those whom Metiria inspired – please don’t give up on voting. The Greens need you now more than ever!
“Here’s a new idea for the Tories: Why not ask a simple question every time you propose a course of action: Is this morally just?”
It’s time to hear what poor people have to say about being poor.
Last night all the excitement finally caught up with them, leading to calls for Paddy Gower to resign and for MSM organisations to delete their social media accounts.
Shaw in his own words on where the party is at.
Yes. Quite seriously.
A major piece by Jessica McAllen in The Listener out today. Cash-strapped hospitals are using unsafe hardware-store versions of proper surgical-grade equipment, and reusing “single use” devices.
Kōrero Pono writes about the class divide within the parliamentary Left and the importance of the wider Left’s message in this election.
Consider the sharp contrast between the lies and dirty politics that the Nats have brazened out in the last 9 years and the way that Metiria Turei fronted up and took responsibility for decades old youthful mistakes. Gower is right that it has headed off the Nats’ attack lines and they will be fuming.
“there’s one standard for women who were fighting their way out of poverty and another for rich people who know they won’t really get called to account for their own personal histories so long as everyone involved keeps quiet.”
Toby Morris explores the differences in how tax fraud and benefit fraud are dealt with, and asks where our sympathies should be.
At a noon press conference Metiria Turei announced that she is not resigning and will continue to lead the Greens, but she is not seeking a ministerial position in a new government. She takes responsibility for her past, but the work on a fair welfare system is more important than any one person.
Metiria Turei speaks from the heart about how hard it is to be on welfare, and the need for a more compassionate, caring welfare system.
“we want houses to be homes for people to live in, not gold bars for the rich”
Current polls leave National/minor and Labour/Green both short of majority. The chances of NZF determining the shape of the next government are increasing. I’ve always assumed that Peters would go with National, but maybe not, if NZF members get a say.
Mary St George writes about participatory democracy in this year’s election and the new twitter chat #LeftwithEnough.
An entirely relevant piece of prop from overseas.
There are basically two kinds of reaction to Metiria’s bombshell, the practiced “outrage’ of the usual political operatives, and the support of the ordinary people. I think that the louder the operatives shout, the more that people are going to side with the under-dog.
Graham Cameron cuts through the obsession over fraud to the cultural values of the last 30 years and the fear beneath.
Britain follows France in banning the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles from 2040. Good news?
Most people would be shocked to learn that each WINZ case manager is assigned the target of getting a certain number of people off the benefit every month. This is one of the reasons why we have such a punitive and aggressive welfare system. Fewer than half of those removed from the benefit go to jobs. The Nats neither know nor care what happens to the rest, but links to the rising number of homeless and our shocking suicide statistics should be investigated.
National’s ‘penal welfare’ approach is failing kids, failing caregivers and failing New Zealand.
Bruce Munro’s excellent piece in the ODT, looks in to the truth behind the Nats’ job numbers: “It does not take much digging in Statistics New Zealand’s latest Household Labour Force Survey to uncover a growing world of low-paid work, insufficient working hours, financial struggles and unfulfilled lives”.
The announcement that National were granting infrastructure funds to develop housing projects in the far north and south of Auckland caused me some amusement. Wisely Auckland council resisted this boondongle that only benefits land bankers, speculators and their political party (National) for some time. To the point where National used taxpayer funds instead.
The Nats have U-turned on their immigration restrictions. It must come with better protection for migrant workers. The way we exploit them in NZ is shameful.
