Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
I think the left should find a Mayoral candidate to advance progressive principles and policies. And with a muscular fight on the right there may be the opportunity for a candidate to come through the middle and win.
The adding of extra costs to the Dunedin Hospital project to make it appear to be unaffordable, the reckless allowance for a tax cut for Philip Morris and the fudging of health figures to suggest there is a crisis all point to gross mismanagement of Health at a time when it is under stress. Is the goal privatisation?
Join us to protest privatisation of health on the 23rd October. But can we have more oomph and co-ordination please?
It has been revealed that Casey Costello bypassed and second guessed official advice by an internet search and reading a collection of articles that do not way what she thought they said.
Yesterday a former Health NZ Chair said the government is intentionally manufacturing a crisis to privatise healthcare. However privatisation will not solve anything and will only lead to worse financial and health outcomes for all Kiwis as confirmed by Lancet Medical Journal and case studies around the world.
“You just fake it until you make it. I have spent a whole career doing that” – Christopher Luxon.
The National-ACT-NZ First government have signaled they want to privatise our health system. It’s a now or never moment.
Casey Costello’s decision to give Phillip Morris a $216 million tax cut was based on alternative advice that she has received but which she is not disclosing. And Christopher Luxon is comfortable with this.
The question has to be asked, can we trust National to do anything that it has promised?
NZ has already spent $1bn on thin air (Kiwirail ferries), $70bn on roads, and $35bn on tax cuts so no to your hospitals and investments!
There appears to be an impasse in the Coalition’s ranks with Act and National not wanting rail enabled replacement ferries but Winston Peters demanding that they be rail enabled.
What I’m saying to you is that Chris Luxon has never crashed a country before.
New Zealand has the most right wing government it’s had since Governor George Grey determined to eradicate all Maori power by systematic war and then systematic legislative theft in 1863. But the left shows no sign of unifying.
Nigel Haworth argues that the 2012 reforms of the Labour Party created a perverse effect. Not to engender stronger member voice, but to empower a managerial model akin to a Piketty’s Brahmin caste. It weakened the Party’s ability to act strongly at arms length of Caucus and Parliamentary Leader.
On the same day that National had Parliament pass onerous anti gang laws to address allegedly dramatically increasing numbers of gang members Christopher Luxon lost his cool when it was pointed out to him that the Government is purging the list to reduce the numbers.
Lester Levy claims he is working so hard it’s probably not good for his health. Meanwhile, he failed to bring financials to the Health Select Committee while explaining he was doing well on cutting costs – and would continue to do so.
The police’s recent successful operation against the Comanchero gang could concievably have been compromised by National’s proposed gang patch ban.
Christopher Luxon yesterday celebrated a 22% reduction in crime in Downtown Auckland even though crime in the Auckland region went up by 7% during the same time. And later that day had to explain how the number of victims of violent crime had increased by 30,000.
The government plans to put up to 2000 more Kiwis behind bars by 2034 at a potential cost of up to $1.2bn per budget in today’s money. Meanwhile crime, including violent crime is increasing across all of NZ.
This is what David Seymour was told. But he and the Government still chose to push through significant cuts to the scheme.
It seems clear that the Government refused to do anything to stop Winston Pulp from closing its mills. And the Government’s plans to address price volatility by the use of LPG is counterproductive, especially when the cost of renewable energy is considered.
David Seymour finally released some hard information about Act’s coalition bone – Treaty Principles bill. The regulatory impact statement is damning and points to the status quo as being preferable. It will provide an interesting scope for Judith Collins in her non-partisan role as Attorney-General.
Yesterday it was confirmed that Act’s Treaty Principles Bill had been approved by Cabinet for drafting and introduction into Parliament in November this year. Get ready for the circus to start.
Proposed policy for the Labour Party. New Zealand’s power system should empower the people in their lives and systems, secure electricity use and production for New Zealand in perpetuity, and make the electricity system serve New Zealand not the other way round. How do we achieve this?
The Government has mistakenly released confidential legal advice confirming that the Charter School legislation breaches ILO conventions, free trade agreements and potentially the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.
Remember when Christopher Luxon told the National Party that we had a maths teaching crisis? Experts have concluded that the statement is misleading. And an OIA dump suggests that behind the scenes there is an attempt to radically rewrite the existing curriculum.
Shane Jones has been getting into the news recently after his comment that High Court Judge Cheryl Gwyn was a communist made at a private meeting was revealed in the media. He has been called out by Judith Collins and Winston Peters but surprisingly not by Christopher Luxon.
Nicola Willis’s bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander project cancellation has so far cost Kiwis $1bn, but that’s not all. Today RNZ’s reporting reveals the government may have also undermined NZ’s relationship with South Korea.
The year is 2035 and after the McAnaulty-Sepuloni Government is removed from power new National Prime Minister Simeon Brown makes his first new announcement. Guess what it is?
This is going to take some explaining. The police have decided to take no action against National MP David MacLeod for failing to declare $178,394 in electoral donations. No this is not an Onion headline.
Today marks the day 50 years ago when former Labour Prime Minister Norm Kirk died.
Guest post by Nigel Haworth discussing recent publicity given to the Labour Party’s debate around tax reform.
94% of councils that have voted vote to retain Maori wards. Many of them are National background Councillors and previously urged Central Government to not push ahead with the legislation. The forced local referendums are now expected to cost ratepayers and take away from Council workloads
NZ Parliament sitting where Labour’s Kieran McAnulty implores the Coalition government to stop deceiving Kiwis, and Winston Peters and Louise Upton both get fired up. Meanwhile, Casey Costello still doesn’t know who wrote her tobacco Ministerial papers.
Dan Bidois has unwittingly exposed that National has a list of well honed talking points that are used and repeated ad mauseum. Normally within context, sometimes not.
While Luxon and Brown hand it to the Councils, a grassroots campaign is taking effect and the power is with the people. Warning: article contains satire.
