Watkins on health and safety mess
“John Key’s increasingly lacklustre defence of the shambles consists of answers that sound more like satire by the day.”
Politics
accountability
Nats losing it on the TPP
National are trying to evade even the simplest questions on the TPP – because the truth is profoundly undemocratic. As usual Groser and Key turn to insults instead of engaging with people’s legitimate concerns.
NRT: We can no longer trust Bill English’s OIA responses
I/S at No Right Turn writes on the latest abuse of the OIA process.
Charter $chools
Today’s Herald has an excellent piece on charter schools – School cash flows to owners’ pockets. What a surprise!
Zero integrity on zero hours
If you thought the Nats promising to sort out zero hours contracts was too good to be true — you were right.
Greek PM calls new election
A bold move by an administration in an impossible position.
Gower and the 3 News ratings slump
Seems like Hosking is not the only journalist attracting attention for his obvious pro-National bias.
Dom Post on TPP arrogance
An unusually forthright anonymous editorial in the Dom Post yesterday – not comfortable reading for the Nats on the TPP.
Key priorities – puppy photo op not Pike River people
Unbelievable.
Housing selloff – obsessive secrecy and power
National’s selloff of our state houses is yet another example of its two main obsessions, secrecy and unaccountable power.
Sheepgate inquiry
The Auditor-General will hold an inquiry to be held into Saudi sheep deal
Who is to blame for Solid Energy’s failure
… and why is Solid Energy removing links to its Annual reports from its website?
National Ltd™ Enabling Corporate Murderers
But wait there’s more . . . National Ltd™’s attitude to worker safety has, it seems, been successfully installed into the very government agency responsible for holding employers to account for worker deaths.
Why did this take a private prosecution?
The CTU win in a private prosecution over a forestry worker’s death. Where was WorkSafe?
Let’s Lynch the Landlord
As The Standard said at the time, the Government’s decision to destroy Relationships Aotearoa could be a colossal stuff up. And this morning we learn that a Canterbury landlord has allowed access to the sensitive files left behind when RA closed. Anne Tolley must act or Anne Tolley must go.
Weekend reading for the Nats
There were some good opinion pieces published over the weekend. Not comfortable reading for the Nats.
Absurdistan
An excellent piece by Graham Adams – well worth reading the whole thing in Metro, but here are some extracts “on the slow unravelling of a small democracy”.
What’s a charter school gotta do?
What exactly does a charter school have to do in order to be held accountable?
What will National give away?
Labour has set out its bottom lines for supporting the TPP. My question to National and its supporters – which of Labour’s bottom lines are you prepared to give away, and why?
Update: We can cross off point 1, Key sells out Pharmac.
Admitting failure on private prisons
The Nats have been forced to call in the good old-fashioned state to clear up Serco’s mess.
Corrections minister in trouble
Sam Lotu-Iiga appears to have been lying.
More charter school fiascos
Charter schools continue to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Right-wingers continue to back them for all the wrong reasons.
Parnell Ponzi; When are National going to Act on Housing?
National need to act now to end the housing crisis. The market has failed and doing nothing is going to blight the future of Kiwis. The answer is easy. End speculation, build houses. But do National have the guts to do the right thing?
Where is The Herald’s apology to Amanda Bailey?
The Press Council found that The Herald had fell “sadly short” of professional standards. Under the circumstances simply publishing the decision is not enough. NZ Herald – where is your apology to Amanda Bailey?
Nick Smith; Thick as a Short Plank?
National’s Nick Smith appears to have misled Parliament over the illegal export of Kauri logs. Thankfully for Smith, it’s nothing to do with the rumours swirling around who is responsible for the loss of our irreplaceable heritage timber, but more to do with the Minister’s inability to understand a clear and explicit piece of legislation.
NRT: Self-serving redactions
I/S at No Right Turn. The un-redacted Cabinet papers show that Key flat out lied when he tried to implicate Labour in the Saudi sheep scandal.
Edwards on politics and the media
It won’t come as a surprise to any Standardista, but it’s good to see Brent Edwards being up front about some of the systemic problems in politics and the media.
Bridges scandal
Another Nat scandal to add to the list. Rob Salmond demolishes Bridges.
A partial list of current scandals
For those of you who are keeping score at home.
More dirty politics revealed on The Nation today
You might want to tune in and watch The Nation this morning at 9:30.
The stupidest idea this Government has had yet
One News has reported that the Government is on the verge of introducing Social Bonds whereby investors in social services will be rewarded if targets are met.
Banks let down by the Crown (but not the judiciary)
I support any decision he makes to lay a complaint with the NZ Law Society against the taxpayer funded prosecutor/s who made the decision to breach their obligation to the Court and to hold the AG’s feet to the fire regarding a rigorous investigation of the withholding of the memorandum.
Dotcom’s open letter to Banks
Last night Kim Dotcom released an open letter to John Banks.
John Banks; Conviction Quashed
John Banks has been acquitted of electoral fraud and his re-trial has been abandoned. Kim Dotcom has once again failed to follow through. Banks vs Goff in next year’s mayoralty race?
Curiouser and curiouser
Creepy Key has dodged a question from the Green Party about any contact he may have had with the New Zealand Fox News Herald in the lead-up to Rachel Glucina’s hit job on the cafe worker who’s ponytail he pulled.
‘Forgot’ NSA spying
Well who among us hasn’t forgotten a massive illegal domestic spying programme?