There is hope that the cumulative effect of all the international pledges for the Paris climate change conference may buy the world some time to prevent runaway global warming. Some countries are pledging to becoming carbon neutral. New Zealand’s pledge is pathetically weak in comparison.
The Rebstock Panel inquiry could be read to confirm that Child Youth and Family is unable to perform its job properly because of it is not properly resourced to provide the job. But it is clear that National is loathe to provide it with any more resources. And the elephant in the room is that the Government fails to understand that escalating child poverty is the cause the crisis.
Goff has attempted to throw a fire-cracker into the notion of the National Party leadership and caucus being one big happy family. Is this the Labour Party’s way of sowing seeds of discontent without tainting the image of their leader? It is NOT Dirty Politics by any normal understanding of that term as captured in the book of the same name. Is this Goff’s role now? To box from the shadows?
Goff: “Judith’s column this week is the opening shot in her campaign to succeed John Key as National’s leader.”
The Nats are obsessed with the reproductive rights of those they deem “unfit”. Once again they are floating the idea of compulsory controls.
The Green’s agreement with National to allow for Red Peak to be a referendum candidate potentially helps John Key out of a major difficulty and raises issues about the state of the Labour-Green relationship.
The Government has admitted that at least some of the loopy rules mentioned by Paula Bennett in support of the Loopy Rules review do not actually exist.
Nick Smith is being his usual dickhead self again suggesting that self-certifying electricians, directly subject to criminal prosecution, are the same as self-certifying builders who do not. The Government’s rules reduction taskforce is repeating the same mantras from the 1990s that lead directly to the destruction of productivity by National’s policies to create leaky buildings.
John Key is trying to divert attention away from the numerous problems the country is facing by talking about pandas.
One News has discovered that over the past five years Housing Corporation has divested itself of 2,472 houses at the same time that the need for social housing has escalated.
A year after the last election John Key lists his government’s achievements. It’s a pretty desperate effort.
Twelve months on from the last election and that brighter future we were promised has not happened.
Two pieces this week on how National’s mismanagement of the economy has left us in the doldrums.
The Herald editorial this morning suggests that Andrew Little is handling the flag referendum poorly but makes some stunningly simple mistakes that undermines its conclusions.
Not only is Housing Corp planning to pay a $118 million dividend to the Crown this year but hidden away in its accounts is the payment of a further capital contribution of $336 million. Talk about strip mining …
Last night in Parliament Labour MP Sue Moroney’s bill extending paid parental leave to 26 weeks passed its first reading by one vote, with only National and ACT opposed.
In recent news it has been stated that the Government has let Serco off fines totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars while at the same time it is sneaking through retrospective changes to the law to deny thousands of beneficiaries money they are otherwise entitled to.
Climate change induced sea level increases poses a huge threat to most Pacific Islands. They are seeking support for a goal of limiting temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees. Australia and New Zealand are insisting on sticking to a goal of no more than 2 degrees even though this will likely mean that many Islands will disappear.
In the UK, in Australia and in New Zealand conservative governments have initially refused to accept more refugees then in a matter of days they have changed their view. At the same time they have announced increased support for refugees they have announced military action against ISIS. Makes you wonder if this is based on Crosby Textor advice.
Figures have been released showing that Warner Bros were paid NZ $191 million in tax rebates to create the Hobbit Trilogy. The films were very profitable. Why is corporate welfare for profitable activity tolerated?
At a time where the need for social housing has possibly never been greater the Housing Corporation is to pay the Government a dividend of $118 million, the third largest in the Corporation’s history.
According to Cameron Slater the left support the Red Peak flag coz the Nazis used to brand political prisoners with a red triangle that looks like an upside down red flag.
In both England and New Zealand conservative Prime Ministers are looking to urgently backtrack from recent refusals to do anything further for refugees.
The Greens are attempting something remarkable, a plan that is economically credible, but set in the context of realistic environmental constraints. Did they succeed?
The Government is under increasing pressure to increase the number of refugees that it takes. Amnesty International’s proposal to double the number could be met by less than the cost of a flag referendum.
A climate change induced drought from 2006 to 2009 appears to have sparked the instability that has caused the Syrian Civil war. The mass exodus of citizens that we are witnessing may be the first of many climate change induced events.
John Key has ruled out an emergency intake of refugees and claims that New Zealand is doing its bit and that bit is enough.
All Black fan boy John Key opened up Parliament to allow the New Zealand Rugby Union announce this year’s world cup All Black squad on the weekend.
Black Monday on the casino Chinese stock markets wasn’t a particular problem for NZ. John Key’s short-term thinking government will be. Both us and our next biggest trading partner Australia are now heavily exposed to falling Chinese imports and falling commodity prices. That is going to hurt over the coming years.
They were, until a few months ago, the biggest company you’d never heard of. They failed in the UK, they failed in Australia and they’ve failed here in our prisons. But they are still making good profits here. They’re a company dedicated, it seems, to making a profit while failing to deliver lots of different public services. We don’t need or want them here.
The latest financial reports for the privatised companies suggests that the New Zealand Government has lost in the past twelve months $470 million in dividends it would have received had it held onto the shares.
Last night the Nats passed their widely ridiculed health and safety legislation. This morning a Waikato farm worker died in a workplace accident. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Simon Louisson recently made a post about National’s profligacy, and all of the debt they have racked up. Guest poster Michael disagrees with Simon and says that “Yes, National was profligate.” and “No, National should not have balanced the books.”
Chris Finlayson has criticised the New Zealand Law Society for not being aware that a change to the Health and Safety Reform Bill affecting human rights introduced after submissions had been heard was itself being changed. But all this does is reinforce the Law Society’s criticisms that such provisions should have been part of the original bill.
Dita De Boni’s possibly last column for the Herald is a must read.
