Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave a speech/comments to NATO outlining our position on NATO, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, multilateral diplomacy, our region, and nuclear proliferation. Plus of course she helped to finally get the EU trade treaty over the line. Her ‘comments’ are worth reading and commenting on because I suspect that they align pretty well to our societies general position.
Fresh from his attempt to alienate the female vote by being equivocal on if a National Government would move to restrict access to abortions yesterday Christopher Luxon compounded things by purporting to speak for all women.
Someone should send out the free speech police. Simon O’Connor has been muzzled and is being stopped from saying what he thinks.
National leader Christopher Luxon who has been previously reported as believing that abortion is murder, issued three public statements over the weekend trying to distance himself from the controversy caused by the US Supreme Court overturning of Rowe v Wade.
In the UK Rail Maritime and Transport boss Mick Lynch has caused a media sensation by strongly and clearly advocating for workers rights as the Conservative Government aims to deal with inflation by eroding further workers wages and job conditions.
Plenty of experts will tell you about what Matariki ‘means to us’. Here’s what it means to Ardern.
This morning on Morning Report Christopher Luxon was well and truly Susied as Susie Ferguson asked him how can we have tax cuts yet improved public services.
It’s pretty commonplace now to observe that Prime Minister Ardern is doing well overseas but tanking at home.
An Auckland Ratepayers Alliance Curia poll that was trumpeted as claiming that Efeso Collins and Leo Molloy were neck and neck in terms of public support has attracted criticism after it was disclosed that the poll of 500 persons had 53% stating that they did not know who they would vote for.
What started out as an ego driven campaign is now developing into full blown Trumism as Leo Molloy thrashes around attempting to court attention in the belief, Trump like, that it will convert into political support.
The Tauranga by election has been one of the most low key by elections held in some time. The polls are now closed. If Labour get within 25 points of National they can regard this as a victory.
Christopher Luxton has proposed that social media posts showing gang members wearing bling should be censored. And in the United Kingdom Boris Johnson has railed against a ECHR decision which has upset his efforts to illegally extradite refugee status applicants to Rwanda. These are different examples of something the right is finessing, culture wars against minorities in breach of their rights for political advantage.
There was some drama yesterday in the Beehive where Kris Faafoi and Trevor Mallard announced that they will be resigning from Parliament and Jacinda Ardern took the opportunity to reshuffle the Cabinet.
BusinessNZ’s attempt to put New Zealand on the ILO naughty list because of fair pay agreements has failed.
We are about to have a proper gang control policy contest. It’s about time.
This weekend National threw out a few hunks of red meat to some of its more rabid supporters by going to its old favourite of gang bashing.
Guest with a life of anti-fascist and anti-war activism in their rear-view mirror, alarmingly finds at fifty that they are staring at the green shoots of fascism in their headlights.This is not where any progressive expected to be. But for the left, there is also no discounting fascist action by offering up the reasoning of the aggressor.
The He Waka Eke Noa report recommends the introduction of farm-level split-gas levy on agricultural emissions. The anticipated savings are very small and reliant on Government proposals for the sector to reaching the Government target of 10% methane reduction. Are we really all in this together?
Christopher Luxon this morning called for the police getting warrantless search powers for arms. But the law already allows for warrantless searches where Arms Act violations are suspected.
Reports from the UK suggest that Boris Johnson’s reign as Prime Minister may be over because it appears sufficient conservative MPs have a sufficient sense of morality to be outraged about Boris’s Covid lockdown busting ways.
Update: he survived but over 40% of Conservative MPs voted to remove him.
National and it allies have this week attacked Nanaia Mahuta for not responding to China’s forays in the Pacific. But they do not appreciate the quiet diplomatic work that Labour MPs have been doing in the background or the reasons why the Pacific rejected having a joint security arrangement with China.
Yesterday on Morning Report Chris Luxon pivoted from a question about National supporters expressing distaste for Te Ao Maori to blaming Jacinda Ardern for not burning up political capital on co governance.
In 21 tweets Clint Smith has set out why National’s tax cut policies and its rhetoric are absurd and how the media is doing us a disservice by not asking the hard questions like what will be cut and how the promised tax cuts will be paid for.
Internationally Jacinda Ardern’s speech to the Harvard graduating class has been very well received. But locally not so much.
Video and transcript of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s speech at Harvard.
Yet another school shooting has occurred this time in Texas with 19 children and two teachers shot. And this weekend the NRA is holding its annual Convention in Texas and Donald Trump is one of the guest speakers.
Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced funding to increase coastal shipping services in New Zealand in a move that will decrease highway congestion, reduce wear and tear on roads, improve employment, support regional development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Roger Douglas may have caused New Zealand a lot of harm through his policies and actions but there was one occasion where if a policy he had helped to introduce had been retained New Zealand would be a much better place.
How was the 2022 budget? Was it the worst since Ruth Richardson’s mother of all budgets or the best since the first Labour Government gave everyone a Christmas bonus in 1935?
Today is budget day. What surprises will Grant Robertson announce to address the country’s many and varied problems. Will Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis be able to sound like they actually understand what is in the budget? Stay tuned for 2 pm …
what kind of climate action do we want?
The Auckland mayoralty campaign promises to be a fascinating contest between a right winger promising to spend $1.5 million on the campaign and wants to turn sprinklers on the homeless and Efeso Collins who promises to run an inclusive respectful campaign.
Former Labour MP Shane Jones has criticised the 2021 budget even though he has no idea what is going to be in it.
Kelvin Davis gave an outstanding speech in Parliament yesterday where he ridiculed opposition for proposals that if passed would enhance inequality.
Act has publicly released its proposal to decimate the state should it have a say in the next Government. Its Real Change Alternative Budget may be wet dream inducing for Ayn Rand acolytes but for the rest of us the proposals should instill a deep sense of dread.
The climate crisis is no longer something that’s happening to someone else, somewhere else, at some point in the future. It’s happening to us. It’s happening here. It’s happening now. – James Shaw
