No tears for Starmer
An MI6 plant in my opinion. A hollow man, deeply duplicitous, a Zionist warmonger whose only job was to expunge the Labour left. He will not be missed or regretted.
Politics
community democracy
Privatisation and Plunder
Privatisation and Plunder is essential reading for those who want to work for a society where prosperity for all is the aim.
Ireland’s new President causes Western backlash
There are clear signs Ireland’s new President Catherine Connolly’s landslide victory has intensified efforts to undermine the country’s neutrality and neuter its aim to punish genocidal Israel.
The 2025 Local Government Election results
The provisional Local Government election results have shown appalling turnout especially in Auckland and a voter reaction against large rates increases, potentially caused by the shelving of the Three Waters Reform package.
Corbyn still draws a crowd – what’s new?
Zarah Sultana for one – she’s a star. Gaza for another – anti-zionism/semitism won’t work this time. 500,000 signed up in a week for a new party is impressive.
Chhour needs to go
It is a shame that Ipredict is not still around. Otherwise I would be putting money on Chhour being the first to go.
Are we drifting away or falling apart?
What is the antidote for our socio-economic problems and how do we deal with this coalition government?
A sad lament from the serial left
Attacking leftists attempts to expose the Atlas Network of right-wing think tanks, Chris Trotter offers this gem “Morally speaking, is taking money from oil companies really all that distinguishable from giving money to oil companies every time we fill up our petrol tank?”
National and the Gutting of Local Democracy
We have remarkably little democracy left in New Zealand.
Why Labour must change course
“A Left government with any claim to progressive credentials will focus on three policy areas – first, high-quality, high value production; second, taxation measures to reduce significantly wealth differences; third, strengthened democracy, including industrial democracy beyond collective bargaining. These three are indispensable. A Left politics, which does not build on these three, will founder.”
Has Labour become a cadre Party? Pt 1 Leadership
In 2021, I voted against Labour’s conference proposal for midstream leadership change to be determined by Caucus alone, saying that it risked Labour becoming a cadre party for elites. A series of posts will start with why the Caucus should not rush to a leadership vote.
The Greens In Real Government in October 2023
What happens if the Green Party gets 10% of the vote and the top 9 get in. And say they get to form a government. What would Greens in Cabinet look like?
What Starts off in Support of Alabama’s Miners …
What Starts off in Support of Alabama’s Miners turns into a homily from Beau on the power of getting community change going when and only when you have the organisational power to pull it off month after month after month.
The Freedumb Protesters give protesting a bad name
As a principle the right to protest is important. But the freedumb protesters making outlandish claims and at the same time plagarizing the language of progressive protest movements deserves to be called out.
Layers of Culpability
The huge tyre fire near Amberley in North Canterbury last Friday is in an area with a high water table, extreme fire risk in summer, two kilometres from a town of 2000 residents, and on the edge of one of NZ’s premier wine regions.
No extradition for Assange
Great news. While unexpected, Nicky Hager who was an expert witness for Assange at the trial, thought this might be a possibility when he spoke to the Fabian Society in November. More details tomorrow.
Update: Bail application to be heard on Wednesday London time.
Time’s up Labour
It’s not possible to resolve New Zealand’s housing and poverty crises from within a neoliberal frame. Change is going to have to be driven from outside of parliament.
Covid recovery and bouncing forward
Central to the Transition movement from the outset has been the idea of resilience. Usually framed as the ability to ‘bounce back’, it is seen in the Transition movement as being better imagined as the capacity to ‘bounce forward’, i.e. to use it as the opportunity to move forward to something better. How then to ‘bounce forward’ from COVID-19 in such a way that we also move to a way of doing things consistent with the scale of the climate crisis?
NZ Police abandon Armed Response Teams
We have a model of policing by consent and that means we need the vast majority of people to see as legitimate the style in which we’re policing and it’s been clear to me that there has not been acceptance of this as an appropriate style of policing in New Zealand. – Police Commissioner Andrew Coster
Constitutions that build citizen power and joy
Emerging from the current crisis, what kind of state can be envisaged that could do the opposite of this consciousness deflation, by enabling and encouraging an empowered citizenry, and harnessing public intelligence, creativity and ingenuity for the common good?
Covid-19 and a digital democracy
Government has for the last decade been pushing for as many government services as possible to be primarily accessed digitally rather than face-to face. Funnily enough, the one public service they forgot to push to digital is themselves. Now’s the time Trevor.
Listening to left wing dissent
What stands out for me are the voices of the people who are saying actually, there were solid reasons for abandoning Labour, this is why I did. There’s something important here about really listening to dissent and being willing to engage with views that don’t make sense in the context of our own personal ideologies.
Brittle cities
It is pretty hard to miss a variety of cities around the world going nuts for apparently minor offences.
Dinosaurs Fight Extinction Rebellion
Dinosaurs are speeding up our extinction.
Confirmation bias
The internet neatly divides us into separate isolated tribes with polarised views of what are the issues and what is reality. How do we engage in a civilised discussion to educate each other and reach a consensus of what we should be doing?
James Casson and why YOU should Stand for Council
Hamilton City Councillor James Casson has been exposed as a bigot. You can help rid NZ of people like him in just a few months. Time to put your best foot forward, Standarnistas!
Pete Shelley: History is Made by Those Who Turn Up
Pete Shelley, lead singer of ground breaking punk band Buzzcocks has died. And Ed Sheeran still walks among us. Where’s the justice?
Vote City Vision in Entrust elections
Voting papers are being delivered to parts of Auckland relating to the Entrust elections, to elect trustees to oversee the management of Vector. City Vision is standing a progressive group of candidates hoping to take power away from the current right wing dominated board.
Bigot’s Billboard
Anti-Vaxxers are targeting South Auckland families in their latest bid to spread the virus of ignorance. You can help needle the pricks. The Standard shows you how.
UPDATE: The billboard is coming down!
Modern Technology Is Eroding Our Society
People are losing their people skills rapidly and it is having an effect on society.
VSM – why it needs to go.
In 2010 the ACT Party with the help of National managed to pass a piece of legislation that damaged student democracy, and blatantly […]
Algorithms are threatening our democracy
Algorithms are a form of fascism – yet a fascism from data manipulation rather than from the state. Are they a threat to our democracy?
Democracy, Faux Democracy and Terror.
Facebook, Putin, poisoning and Ghouta have all given fairly extensive media coverage of late. Nothing much on Afrin. Afrin has just fallen to terrorists backed by Turkey.
Update: the photo used for this post is of the The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army (TQILA), who are part of the International Revolutionary People’s Guerrilla Forces fighting in Syria.
Is youth the new political divide?
There is evidence in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand that youth and not class may be the new political divide.
Zen and the art of greening the government
Democracy, protest, and what makes this the first ever progressive New Zealand MMP government.
Join Marama for an Announcement February 4th
Marama Davidson – Kia ora whānau! It would mean so much to me if you would all come and support my event on Sunday 04 Feb at 11am. We’ll be livestreaming the event so even if you can’t physically be there and you’d like to tautoko you can click ‘going’.