The Key government and its allies are playing the “red scare” gambit, the Greens get to the heart of the reason for NZ Power, Parker goes Third Way, while Bernard Hickey and Matt McCarten weigh in to support the (alleged) “socialist” NZ Power policy. Bomber Bradbury adds some words of caution. [updated title]
National, far from being their idealised “low tax party” are in fact the “stealth tax party”. While they’ve lowered the top rate of tax and the company rate, helping out the wealthiest, there has been regressive tax after regressive tax increase on the smaller hidden things.
It was announced today that Government-owned Orcon was sold off last Friday.
National’s 3 quarters of the way through its time at the crease now. And what has it achieved? A record debt pile. 300,000 jobless. 100,000 underemployed. Rising poverty. 1,000 a week fleeing to Australia. A new housing bubble. A record high dollar that’s killing our businesses. And falling household incomes. A list of articles on Stuff sums it up.
A raft of Tory policies have been dismantling the British welfare state: bedroom tax, privatising the NHS: NZ’s NAct government is following the same pattern of slyly changing small things, adding up to major changes that are ultimately socially & economically destructive.
Significant International Affairs files, relating to dodgy Pokies’ trusts, going missing, SkyCity convention centre deals made through flawed government processes. No corruption in NZ, just governance through sloppy processes? Cui bono?
Parata was told it was too early to make Christchurch school decisions by her ministry and why aren’t we allowed to know how much the state paid off Don Elder when he resigned over Solid Energy’s rapid decline?
Another excellent Cunlife speech last night, speaking to the Child Support Amendment Bill (Committee Stage Schedule 2). An “almost” Bill showing the government’s callous disregard of child poverty and single/separated (usually women) parents.
The Government is currently attempting for a second time to remove blanket tree protection from Auckland’s district plan. Submissions close on February 28, 2013 – Greg Presland tells us why and how you can have your say.
So Aaron Gilmore returns as ex-speaker Lockwood Smith heads to London. His Prime Ministerial ambitions can finally continue…
Debates on the PM’s statement to the House show that this do-nothing government needs to go. Plenty of good ideas from opposition MPs. An excellent speech by Genter against Joyce’s ‘Roads of Madness’ & for public transport.
Danyl at Dimpost has discovered that National is so serious about (enhancing) the drain of jobs and Kiwis to Australia that they’ve actually […]
So Nick Smith is to be returned to cabinet after spending nearly a year on the bench for his ethical flaws. Presumably 10 months on the back benches heals all those desires to abuse your powers to try to help your friends get money.
On TV3 this morning, John Key was soothing and slick. All is well on Planet Key, and critics are delusional. He reeled of numbers and facts, but material realities of daily lives, and the suffering of people on low incomes aren’t mentioned. And asset sales?
The Transport and Industrial Relations Committee has reported back on David Clark’s Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill, with the National majority recommending it not be passed. The bill will now go back before the House, where its fate will be in the hands of Peter Dunne. Will he vote for it or not?
This week I’ve been to see the surrealists at the Tate Modern in London, and read about the surrealists at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. God knows what Cameron was talking about, with his line about spreading privilege – Knighthoods for all? Everybody off to Eton and Oxbridge?
There’s a lot of it about in right-wing parties at the moment. For John Key, John Banks and David Cameron it appears to be becoming the strategy of choice. It’s not working very well for any of them.
Welcome to National’s economy: Kiwirail has just announced 158 infrastructure and engineering job losses, and this afternoon Solid Energy will probably announce the loss of 300 jobs at Spring Creek, and 200-250 elsewhere. This on top of the swathe of job losses in Huntly and Christchurch Solid Energy announced a month ago.
Over the last week, the government’s off-world set of distorted realities has come to the foreground: those of “Planet John Key” and “Planet Paula”. These worlds highlight the way Bennett’s latest welfare reforms wage war on the poor and undermine fairness and democracy.
The government is pushing on with their Environmental Relations Act Amendment Bill, reducing workers’ rights to rest breaks.
Depress turnout among low-income voters by changing the enrolment rules – it’s an old right-wing trick. The Republicans are doing it in the US – it looks like National may try it on here. They should not succeed.
Finally the truth is out. Gaynor and Armstrong agree – National Party politics are the real reason for asset sales. They make no sense economically. They are not about debt reduction. Key’s asset sales are a political bribe – nothing more and nothing less.
National’s internal polling is telling it people are serious about how it plans to get to the birghter future. So Joyce was wheeled out at the weekend to sell the same old story – more cows, more coal, more oil; and asset sales so we can afford schools and hospitals once at least. He also attacked Labour/Greens – maybe their polls are telling them people aren’t buying.
That’s the Guardian headline. Supposedly designed to give the Tories “political momentum”, it is late and over budget. The Treasury is resigned to the programme costing money rather than providing savings. The LibDems won’t have a bar of it. Critics describe it as “pitch-rolling”, preparing the ground for further “reforms”. More like spin-bowling here.
There – “Cameron announces Tory plan to slash benefits.” Here – “The Government wants Work and Income to cut the number of long-term beneficiaries on a working-age benefit, John Key has just announced.” Tories normally do this when they are in trouble.
A strong safety warning today about sheeptruck disaster met Ministerial indifference from Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges. He said Australian legislation to promote safety and fairness in the road transport industry was not needed here because “New Zealand already has a system of work time requirements to help manage the risk of fatigue”. More infamous last words from a National politician – but the police are really worried.
Same old National – when they’re in trouble, out comes the club for a distracting headline. Hekia Parata’s under fire and digging herself into a very deep hole, so Paula Bennett rides to the rescue with the “news” that Cabinet is discussing allowing judges to direct miscreant parents not to have children. Who knows what the judges think about this hospital pass – let’s hope the media sees it for what it is.
Financially troubled private school Wanganui Collegiate received a $3million grant in Budget 2012, 3 times the annual operating grant of the larger Wanganui City College. Since then it has been advertising its low class sizes and ability to reduce fees significantly. Private schools will no doubt be using the current outrage over increased class sizes for recruiting purposes, but they should not be doing it with taxpayers’ money.
Don’t blame Greece: if you change nothing, nothing changes. National’s problems are their own to solve, but they don’t have the guts to look at the big problems in New Zealand’s economy. 0.6% growth in total over the last 3 years – less than population. But National only tinkers and distracts, as our brightest and best head to Aussie.
The media are doing a good job investigating John Banks’ donation history. The Police are presumably also doing theirs, and it seems clear that the matter must end up in Court and the issue of who is telling the truth will be decided by a judge. Some in the media have dismissed the question of any threat to National’s majority. Short-term maybe, long-term I’m not so sure.
What your ruling party got up to at its South Island Regional Conference. Michael Woddhouse, list MP and failed candidate for Dunedin South, speaking at a podium behind a toilet seat with Dunedin South MP Clare Curran’s face attached. It’s witty, too. That’s what I like about it.
The Herald’s revealed that, in 2001, Judith Collins, as chair of the Casino Control Authority, rubber-stamped a ‘pokies for convention centre’ deal with SkyCity. This triggered the then Labour Government limit the number of pokies by statute. Now, the Nats are doing another dirty deal with the cancer in Auckland’s heart but, thanks to Labour, they can’t do it on the quiet.
Last week, David Farrar demanded to know where the government is getting $62m for youth mental health services… Actually he didn’t (they’re stealing it from other health funding) but he is demanding Labour explains where it would get $125m a year for extending paid parental leave. I guess he just really wants to make sure it’s feasible. Lets help him out with some options
Parliament is supposed to be the sovereign body in our government. So, how come the Executive has an unchallengeable power to veto any legislation it chooses? As I/S explains, the roots of the financial veto go back to when Parliament was a servant of the Crown, but its legislative justification has been repealed. Time to drop the archaic, undemocratic financial veto.
