Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
[Update: TV3 now admits its ’emails’ were a Facebook exchange between Fuller and a friend and Fuller says she made up the money offer. For fuck’s sake, TV3, you can’t run a story based on someone’s Facebook comments. Still, Bennett should not have been meeting with a complainant just before the report is due out. It’s clear she is looking to avoid an embarrassment]
The Nat/ACT/Maori Party government has seen 55,000 more people go on benefits. They want to work. There aren’t enough jobs. How to make […]
Labour’s Darien Fenton is a gutsy, tireless advocate for working Kiwis. She was left gobsmacked by the Maori Party’s decision to vote for weakening Kiwis’ rights to work breaks. Maybe there’s a cunning plan that the Maori Party’s backing of a party that wants higher unemployment, weaker work rights, and lower wages will see more Maori in better paid jobs with improved conditions.
It’s fantastic to see Labour working on an Open Government policy as a major plank for the next election. And taking an open approach to the policy development is a stroke of genius. Politically, Labour has an incredible opportunity to position itself in contrast to the secretive and undemocratic National party. More than that, this stuff matters.
Live in Canterbury? Value democracy? What are you doing today after work? Come to the ECan protest, 5:30 pm @ ECan office 58 Kilmore St. Because Canterbury is only the beginning…
Here’s a great interview by RNZ’s Kathryn Ryan with Professor Doug Sellman, Director of the National Addiction Centre, on Government’s bizarre inconsistency in […]
The choices between Labour and National are becoming clearer by the day. Next election the public is going to be offered two very different futures for New Zealand. Not between Labour and a dissembling “Labour Lite”, but between Labour and the true National agenda exposed.
Last week, the Maori Party endlessly praised National for the meaningless DRIP. Yesterday, we got deathly silence as Trevor Mallard revealed that the Government is giving whare kura schools only $50,000 in base operating funding. Mainstream schools get $130,000. The Government is treating kids at Maori immersion schools as second-class citizens and the Maori Party is OK with it.
The government announced a package of measures for the aquaculture industry – including a power for Ministers “to amend regional coastal plans in exceptional circumstances where it is in significant regional or national interest”. The Minister can unilaterally decide what is in a region’s interests, irrespective of what the people of that region may say to the contrary.
This continues this authoritarian government’s assaults on voters ability to choose the own representation.
National is predictably planning to put the cost of polluters’ actions on to the rest of us by canning the major parts of the ETS. This stupid game of pass the buck is played out all over the world – polluters refuse to accept their responsibilities, governments refuse to act – as more greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere, locking us in to economic and ecological devastation.
Last month, the Government abolished the democratically-elected Canterbury Regional Council known as Environment Canterbury. Not only were the current elected officials booted out, Cantabarians were denied their right to elect the next council in the upcoming local body elections. Now, Labour has pledged to restore democracy to Canterbury.
Fresh from promising to restore the top tax rate that National is set to abolish and give the revenue to the poor, Phil Goff has outlined his vision for fixing National’s undemocratic Supercity. National and Act have ridden roughshod over Auckland democracy in the interests of their corporate allies. Phil Goff has made it clear that Labour will restore local democracy.
Sam Cash takes a look at John Banks’ latest poll and doesn’t find too much to crow about for the Mayor for Remuera – noting he has only managed to draw even with Len Brown in spite of the huge profile lead he has over his challenger.
John Key is a two faced politician. He frequently says different things to different audiences. In the case of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Key may have taken this duplicitous tactic too far, setting two large bodies of public opinion on a collision course…
The other day, Chris Finlayson described himself as a Pollyanna – it’s an American term (of derision) for someone who sees everything as positive, ignoring unhappy realities. Finlayson is all bouncy and optimistic, selling his ‘no-one owns it’ ‘solution’ to the F&S issue. But I have not heard a single Maori leader who agrees with his offer or anything like it.
While digging out the poppy that graces our banner this weekend, I also dug out this bit of history. Anzac Day notice, New Zealand Gazette, 1916
Point 5 particularly intrigued me.
News is already suffering from the “downsizing” of reporting and editing staff. What happens as the process goes further, with the automation of the collating, ranking, and even the writing of the news? How long before gaming news rank is the next political battlefield?
The Nats are looking to cut $1.8 billion in spending over four years. Where from? What and who will be deemed to be “low quality” in need of “weeding out”? The answers are going to tell us a lot about the National Party’s values…
Anyone who still thinks the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is going to have any real world effect in New Zealand needs their head read. The first thing that a court will do when someone cites the DRIP as authoritative is check what the Government said about its intention to be bound by it. It will find statement after statement that the Government sees it as purely symbolic.
No Right Turn’s typically forthright take on the sacking of the ECan councillors and the makeup of the government’s appointed directors.
A deal to re-introduce commercial whaling is about to be announced. Anti-whaling groups are organising a snap protest at Parliament, today at 12. Be there. Japan has agreed to lower its ‘quotas’. But since it never kills its full quotas this will not save a single whale. Key will proclaim himself saviour of the whales. The reality is he is legitimising the slaughter and saving nothing.
National’s hysteria around ACC last year was focused on creating an air of crisis. Now they’re going to ‘do something’. That something is privatisation of ACC. It won’t work, it won’t save money. The costs of injuries will still exist. Privatisation will put more of that cost on the injured. Added ligation and profits will mean worse cover for more cost.
On Wednesday, I asked whether we, the Left, could save the Maori Party. The response from Maori Party supporters was a lot of misplaced invective at Labour. Its by its own values that the Maori Party is failing. No-one’s forcing the Maori Party support a government that is working against its values. Perhaps, my question should have been: can the Maori Party save itself?
Read John Armstong’s take on Labour’s brand survey
The other week Vernon Small said that canceling the Cullen Fund contributions was “a dumb, short-sighted decision that has cost the fund heaps in the long run“. Hell, don’t worry about the long run just yet, Vernon, it’s been only 8 months. And the losses are accelerating. Last month the Nats cost us a further $18 million – that’s basically a million a work day.
We all know that long before John Key got into the gold and uranium mining industry, Crosby Textor Chairman, Robert J Champion de Crespigny was pushing the mining industry’s cause in New Zealand. So, who is this CT man who has been called Australia’s ‘Mr Gold’, a “mining magnateâ€, a “resource-sector heavyweight†and “a legendâ€?
TVNZ: “Labour has been rumbled secretly polling its own members”. Jesus, can’t Labour can’t even poll its own members without the media playing silly buggers? They’re asking their members about the party’s branding (not its values, its branding). That’s a good thing. It’s the members’ party after all. Good stuff, Labour. You don’t see National asking for its members’ opinions.
Rodney Hide was furious at John Key for signing the Declaration of Indigenous Rights behind his back but he’ll get over it. ACT is getting tonnes of real policy wins. What’s disturbing is seeing the Maori Party celebrating a ‘win’ then meekly rolling over when Key tells them it’s meaningless. Why does this keep happening? Because the Maori Party is stuck. And, sadly, each loss just mires them further.
Odds are good Jim Anderton is standing for mayor of Christchurch. By-election will be a chance to rev up the Labour machine again. Safe seat: Labour+Progressive had over 20,000 candidate votes. Also gives Progressives and Labour time to combine their assets, activists, and systems well before the general election. But it looks like Labour isn’t the only one seeing an opportunity:
As John Key smiled and assured his National Party constituents that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is aspirational, symbolic and […]
Bill English continues to tell outright lies about the economic performance of this country under Labour. This time it’s even more blatant. You don’t have to do any maths to check if he’s lying or not, you just have to go to the latest GDP stats. This has reached the point of purposely misleading the House and the public.
What the hell is going on in Labour? Phil is busy heaping praise on John Key. Calling him a “good politician”. Saying he deserves “credit where credit’s due”. One News asks if Goff is losing his marbles. 3 News wonders if he’s voting National in 2011. Me, I wonder if he’s angling for a job with the Herald. Where’s Malcolm Tucker when you need him?
Pita Sharples, like Labour, thinks the Declaration of Indigenous Rights matters. John Key sees a meaningless piece of paper, the signing of which costs him nothing. This, along with giving Tariana Turei Whanau Ora, is part of National’s clever manipulation of the Maori Party. The Maori Party leadership is co-opted, ready to roll over on the real issue- the foreshore and seabed.
Nick Smith’s brother, Tim Smith, was up on 21 charges from Environment Canterbury at the same time as Smith was ramming through the abolishment of the democratically-elected council. Smith should have told us of this apparent conflict of interest. I guess when you’re part of a government that’s hiding the fact its 3 strikes law will encourage murders, this seemed like a small thing.
In 2008 John Key made this crystal clear promise: “That in the first term of the National government there will be no state assets that will be sold either partially or fully.” Now, Land Information New Zealand is proposing the sale of seven high country stations as part of the tenure review process. Key must keep his promise not to sell state assets and turn down this proposal immediately.
