Written By: - Date published: 7:27 pm, September 27th, 2013 - 39 comments
Good on Kennedy Graham for posting a good critique of Key’s UN speech, while the MSM largely report the speech in uncritical and glowing terms., Graham focuses on Errors of Omission. [Update: Key’s Omission of Kampala non-aggression Agreement, implicitly supports Obama’s UN speech for US military aggression.]
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 pm, September 25th, 2013 - 52 comments
Two very good speeches in the General Debate in the House from opposition leaders. They highlight Nick Smith’s dodgy record, & why he should be stood down as a Minister in Key’s “Dark, dirty & heartless” government. [Update: Key – on (dis)honesty]
Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, September 25th, 2013 - 35 comments
Cunliffe’s moderate, centre left Labour is on the rise; MSM-supported, NAct smears & negative spin is in over-drive. John Key and the NZ Herald editorial spin from the radical “neoliberal” right. Slippery Nick Smith, a NAct weak point, is under concerted pressure. [Updated]
Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, September 25th, 2013 - 11 comments
Just to be clear: Nick Smith did not order the Big Brunch Fry-up, no matter what he might have said.
Written By: - Date published: 2:10 pm, September 20th, 2013 - 18 comments
The spinners in parliament and government are rather predictable. They dump their embarrassments late on a friday, preferably on a long holiday weekend or with a sporting event. I’m picking that today we will see some material dropping off the rear of DOC related to what Nick Smith saw and can no longer remember….
Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, September 20th, 2013 - 11 comments
Yesterday in Question Time Nick Smith continued to pretend that he had not forced DoC to shitcan its submission on the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme. He even went so far as to claim that he had no idea that the submission even existed until this week. But it was just more lies
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, September 20th, 2013 - 221 comments
David Cunliffe spoke to the Left base in the Daily Blog Live interview last night: economy, tax, employment, GCSB, TPPA & more. He raises hopes for a new, post GFC social democratic vision. But he spoke to those with economic & policy knowledge. His nods towards better social security, away from bennie bashing, need fleshing out.
Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, September 19th, 2013 - 46 comments
National is now ‘officially on board’ with getting the Auckland City Rail Link built. But they won’t start building it until 2020 at the earliest, and there’s no government money actually budgeted for that. Why not start building in 2015, like the Council wants? Maybe because that would mean committing actual funding. It turns out the Nats’ 5-year delay will cost $500m.
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, September 19th, 2013 - 37 comments
Nick Smith says he did not even know a document existed even though he was given a full briefing on it. And after he gets involved a submission critical of the environmental effect the proposed Ruataniwha Dam will have on the Tukituki River is drastically altered. There is something distinctly smelly about this.
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, September 13th, 2013 - 75 comments
The response to Metiria Turei’s sttements about affordable housing on The Vote, raises questions about political narratives are told to the general electorate? The Greens, Mana and Cunliffe have stressed their “vision“. How to tell it so it reaches the hearts of New Zealanders?
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, September 11th, 2013 - 86 comments
National is facing humiliation over it’s failure to get the numbers for its controversial Resource Management Act reforms as both the Maori Party and United Future refuse to back the legislation in its current form.
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, September 5th, 2013 - 232 comments
The concept of UBI has a long history in New Zealand.
Of course, we already have a UBI for those over 65. Which has been extremely successful at eliminating poverty amongst the elderly, at a very moderate cost by international standards.
Written By: - Date published: 3:13 pm, September 3rd, 2013 - 24 comments
Widespread and ongoing poisoning of civilians demands decisive and immediate international action, so…
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, September 1st, 2013 - 41 comments
If you want to understand the National Government’s view of the environment then DOC’s latest vision statement is a much read. Warning, the contents are likely to disturb and make you feel nauseous.
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, August 30th, 2013 - 188 comments
If you had $3 billion to spend on transport over 25 years, what would you do with it? Increase spending on cycling facilities six-fold and give all our cities Amsterdam-like sustainable transport? Increase the amount spent on public transport by over a third? Or, build a duplicate motorway for 3% that Wellington’s population will use, at a cost to the taxpayer of $30 per commuter per day
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, August 29th, 2013 - 55 comments
The Government is planning to kowtow to the oil companies again and is intending to introduce by way of a SOP law changes to prevent us from submitting when oil companies apply for consent to drill exploratory oil wells at sea. The Government obviously listens intently when the Oil Companies speak but does not want to listen to us.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 29th, 2013 - 76 comments
The government suffered a major court ruling against it over their ungenerous Christchurch earthquake pay-outs – their 50% offer for uninsured red-zoned land was ruled ‘not in accordance with the law’. Brownlee promises to appeal and bury the Outcasts in debt; John Key threatens to withdraw even their 50% offer with the throwaway: ‘it’s been a lot of fun. If you don’t want to take the offer, that’s where it’s at’. Heartless.
Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, August 26th, 2013 - 115 comments
[Update] Surrounded by women, especially Pasifika women, Cunliffe announced he is standing for Labour leader. Iain Lees Galloway and Nanaia Mahuta signed the nomination forms. Report from New Lynn: photos added – Cunliffe answers some questions.
Written By: - Date published: 2:37 pm, August 24th, 2013 - 103 comments
Meanwhile back in the real world, the nuclear disaster at Fukushima is creeping back in to the headlines, for all the wrong reasons.
Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, August 23rd, 2013 - 138 comments
I wasn’t going to express my opinion on the upcoming Labour leadership selection process. However, the usual right leaning MSM hacks seem to have been following the current Labour caucus leadership in naming Robertson as the frontrunner. This is my op ed testimony for my frontrunner, the MP for my electorate: Cunliffe.
Written By: - Date published: 8:43 pm, August 20th, 2013 - 19 comments
Hey John, how much public money are you going to pay the wealthy to “buy” our assets? (And how just desperate are you…?)
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, August 19th, 2013 - 161 comments
National’s desperately racing to lock in Transmission Gully and the Puhoi to Wellsford Holiday Highway ahead of the election, in case they lose. Those two projects are nearly half of their $12 billion ‘roads of national significance’, 300km of roads costing an outrageous $40,000 per metre. Now, you would think if the Government was spending $12 billion, it would be to meet a growing demand. Think again.
Written By: - Date published: 2:49 pm, August 16th, 2013 - 57 comments
Another quake near Seddon that shook Wellington hard. Various reports of strength, probably 6.2 at 8km. Hope all are well…
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, August 15th, 2013 - 205 comments
It wasn’t a dirty pipe. That is the claim made by veterinarian and farm performance consultant Frank Rowson, as reported by Stuff yesterday. Rowson says “This disease originates in contaminated feed and animal manure”. Let the enquiries begin – we need to be honest about the problem and fix it.
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, August 11th, 2013 - 128 comments
The Fonterra fiasco is turning into a genuine crisis and a huge risk to our economy. John Key needs to stop playing politics and get real. It’s urgent.
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, August 11th, 2013 - 23 comments
National has announced further changes to the Resource Management Act. Predictably the proposals are designed to allow the Government to say that it is doing something about affordable housing but in reality they will, if enacted, further undermine and damage existing environmental protection.
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, August 9th, 2013 - 72 comments
Stuff’s Pattrick Smellie makes the case that the Fonterra scandal is a product of deregulation. The lesson here is that Mike Joy and other scientists are right. To protect its environment, its brand, its exports and its economy, NZ needs to strengthen regulatory protections and clean up its act.
Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, August 6th, 2013 - 103 comments
The world has become a very strange place when NZ is getting lectured by China. Problem is, they aren’t wrong.
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, August 5th, 2013 - 16 comments
Campbell Live last Wednesday focused on transport: funding & Auckland versus the regions; public transport & roads; the revolutionary Congestion Free Network plan. City Vision (supported by Labour & the Green Party – with a major focus on transport) & 2 Future West candidates launch their Auckland council campaigns.
Written By: - Date published: 4:15 pm, August 1st, 2013 - 70 comments
A message from Generation Zero about their campaign for the Congestion Free Network – much cheaper than motorways…
Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, July 25th, 2013 - 87 comments
UK children born on the same day as the new prince will get a silver penny: but their lives will be vastly different. Left foot Forward spells out the inequalities between these new born. John Key gushes over the new prince, while his government slashes, burns and fuels inequalities.
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