Is Tony Abbott finished?
Tony Abbott is facing electoral defeat from Zali Steggall, an independent candidate who has put combating climate change at the centre of her campaign.
International
australian politics
Tough, swift leadership needed to police social media
The government has been rightly lauded for swiftly acting to ban assault weapons after the Christchurch massacre, but is its failure to decisively call social media giants to order just as weak and unacceptable as the failure to act on Aramoana massacre back in 1990?
Did Hanson’s One Nation Party seek funding from the NRA and the Koch Brothers?
Pauline Hanson’s One Australia party is trying to defend claims that it should funding to oppose gun restrictions from the NRA and the Koch Brothers by stating that its chief of staff was drunk.
‘Heroes’
A few musings on heroism.
Ardern backs students striking for climate change
Jacinda Ardern has publicly supported the School students strike about climate change and urged them not to underestimate the power of their voices.
Cardinal Pell
Cardinal Pell has been given six years in jail for his crimes against children. But the Catholic Church has a range of other allegations to resolve.
Magicked-Up Weapons
I’m glad Anne-Marie Brady will get the chance to present her “Magic Weapons” paper to the select committee examining the last election. At long last it might get given some proper critical examination, of its content as well as it provenance. In my opinion it reads like a long list of the blindingly obvious, mixed with a large dose of conspiracy theory. It certainly doesn’t show much sign of the sort of critical thinking one might expect from an academic.
What China crisis?
Claims that New Zealand is at a crisis point in terms of its relationship with China appear to be somewhat overegged.
That federation campaign
There’s an ad campaign that says “New Zealand is doing Australia better than Australia is”, and recommends federation of New Zealand with Australia and Jacinda being the first Prime Minister. Maybe it’s time.
Go Democracy Go!
It’s going to be a strong year for democratic politics.
Random 2019 predictions …
What will happen in 2019?
A Right Shambles
With the UK Tories self imploding, the US President contemplating jail time, Angela Merkel moving on and the conservative parties on both sides of the Tasman looking increasingly irrelevant, what should the left do to fill the gap?
Safe from prying 5Eyes
I like my Huawei phone. Apparently the US National Security Agency can’t break its encryption. That’s presumably the “security” issue why Spark is being blocked from using Huawei, and why Meng Wanzhou is held hostage in Canada at the behest of US neocons.
Nutjobs and the UN Global Migration Pact
National and ACT have alleged that a United Nations Pact supported by New Zealand in 2016 will take away sovereign rights even though the pact itself says that it is not legally binding.
The dinosaurs are clinging on
The Trump administration has produced an official report outlining the perils of climate change which the POTUS has rejected. And in Australia the dinosaur Liberal Party has suffered a huge loss in Victorian State elections, the loss of their Parliamentary majority and ScoMo has criticised school students taking direct action against the Government’s totally inadequate policies.
Political interference
China certainly has interfered in New Zealand politics, most notably by the offer of a free trade deal which delivered huge benefits to our economy. Party and government officials all stressed to us that they were grateful for New Zealand’s support for their accession to the World Trade Organisation, the rule-based trade body. The US and Australia in contrast want to build a military base on Manus Island north of Papua.
What happens if housing prices really go down?
So what if Labour decides to go ahead with its capital gains tax? What happens to the equity of the remaining middle class? What happens to the equity of those who were brought in under KiwiBuild?
ScoMo’s flying bus tour
In an effort to revive sagging support levels Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is on a bus tour of Australia involving him flying and being picked up by the bus, drinking lots of beer, wearing different hats and saying fair dinkum a lot.
Australia’s refugee problem
The Liberal Party has potentially lost one of its safest seats to an independent who campaigned on doing something about climate change and the Nauru refugees.
Petrol, Zero Carbon, and 15,000 Submissions
Get ready, according to the AA, for petrol at $3 a liter for Christmas.
Failed Estate – the ABC of Trust
In Australia this week the Liberal Government has become embroiled in a scandal relating to political pressure being brought to sack the head of the ABC and one of its most senior reporters. Failed estate has the details.
Is Politik a propaganda mouthpiece for the UK Embassy?
In Politik’s 7 September issue we are told that Western diplomats in Wellington are surprised that Winston Peters has not accused Russia of the Skripal poisoning or joined some other countries in taking reprisals. Editor Richard Harman quotes a source to tell us that the British in particular were “pissed” at Peters’ response. Well dearie me. I’m with Winston, a wise old owl.
Libspill set to Toy Story
A genius has set the recent Liberal Party putsch to scenes from Toy Story.
Enough Bullshit!
White South African farm murders.
Australia bans Manning but lets in Au pair for rich Liberal donors
Following recent news it appears that in Australia Au Pairs of the rich and connected are welcomed and helped. Seriously ill refugees are ignored. And click bait racists are fine but peace activists are shown the door.
Litigation and equal pay – a history of the 1950’s equal pay campaign
Forward In 2016 I wrote the below dissertation as part of my History Honours degree at Victoria University. This dissertation explores the 1950s […]
Australia, New Zealand, and Climate Change Politics
What are the implications for New Zealand’s climate change policies of Australia’s change of Prime Minister?
Spull!
Malcolm Turnbull is gone, the Liberal Party is engaged in a leadership battle, and a Texan popcorn maker has appeared as a potential new Prime Minister.
Turnbull out, Morrison In?
Turnbull out, Morrison or Dutton in? The Australian Liberal Party self flagellation continues in Canberra. Updates as they roll in, cobbers.
UPDATE: Malcolm Turnbull calls press conference at 1PM AEST (3PM in NZ)
UPDATE: Turnbull to quit tomorrow, if ballot called.
UPDATE: Julie Bishop prepares bid.
UPDATE: Scott Morrison wins, Dutton defeated 45-40.
New Zealand’s offer to accept some of Nauru’s refugees
Jacinda Ardern is looking to repeat Helen Clark’s example of proposing to take refugees that Australia is refusing to take.
Strewth Dutton could be Aussie PM
Malcolm Turnbull’s days as Australian Prime Minister may be numbered with suggestions that Peter Dutton has the numbers to win a leadership contest.
About freedom of speech
Simon Wilson in the Herald neatly skewers suggestions that Donald Brash is a free speech warrior and raises important issues about the interplay between free speech and attacks on “political correctness” also known as tolerance and respect.
Guest post: The end of Neoliberalism – What went wrong?
The Left predicted the death of neoliberalism after the global financial crisis of 2008. But since then inequality has increased and new right nationalism is on the ascendancy. How should the left respond?
Duck Futton
The Australians are upset with Andrew Little expressing concern about their inhumane treatment of some Kiwis living in Australia and are throwing Donald Trump type tantrums to show their displeasure.
Property price decline
What would happen if the house prices of Auckland, Queenstown, and other centres of very high debt went into substantial and long term decline?
Draining the swamp
One Nation has made an appearance in Aotearoa New Zealand, complete with all the nuttiness of its Australian counterpart, some Donald Trump insanity and some support for the hard right in the United Kingdom.