John Ryall writes on the case of long-term caregiver Kristine Bartlett who took a landmark case to the Employment court this morning. It is on the application of the Equal Pay Act 1972 into gender segmented work. Hopefully this will help reduce the lack of progress on closing our male-female wage gap.
Ken Perrott at Open Parachute has been debunking some of the nonsense around fluoridated water by investigating claims (his background is in scientific research). It is refreshing after reading some of the recent misinterpreted drivel around about the science.
The leaderless uprising in Brazil exposes unbearable inequalities in a dysfunctional post-growth world. Extravagant sports events and expensive stadium contrast with anti-public service austerity measures. Home building lags in Christchurch, while Key looks to asset sales to fund a stadium.
John Key’s excuse for the planned veto of the extension of paid parental leave is that it would put the 2014/15 surplus at risk. There’s several reasons that’s bullshit, the main one being: why is going just under or just over some arbitrary line in the Crown’s books the Nats’ one aim for the economy? The truth is, Key’s using the surplus as an excuse for not doing the right thing.
Councillor Bruce Wilson thinks it’s a “joke” to say we should sterilise Maaori women who smoke. If you don’t think he should resign for his racism, let’s consider if he should resign for being too ignorant to function.
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.
I/S at No Right Turn on the insanity of scrapping the home insulation programme.
Apparently the government is concerned for the general health of people in New Zealand. Apparently, an expression of this concern is the roll out of policy initiatives that will result in New Zealand being smoke free by 2025.
The World Bank has recently issued a report saying NZ needs to focus more on being friendly to multinational corporations. Matt McCarten argues that some multinationals are bad for our health. And sugary food and drinks are rotting Kiwi children’s teeth.
The Nats want to cut the budget for surgery to install grommets, a technique for treating persistent ear infection (especially in children). Naturally those most effected by this ill-considered move will be children from poor families.
The wildfires in Australia are an immediate cause for concern. Such events will be more common as average temperatures rise. Joseph Stigliz warns of an urgent need for structural change to respond to economic decline, climate change, poverty and inequality.
Irish has already covered the appalling statistics from the Children’s Social Health Monitor. What struck me was the paucity of the Government’s response. […]
In August we were sold a “success story” – the number of elective surgeries was up and waiting times were down. Last night we learned the untold backstory, with reports of complex procedures being dropped to focus on making the numbers look good. Yet another example of the Nats’ micro-management gone wrong.
Two years on and the chief executive of the Canterbury District health board David Meates has started to see some worrying trends showing up in Christchurch/Canterbury. People are failing to take their meds. Binge drinking and other dangerous behaviours are on the increase. Government is adding to the problem, not fixing it.
I reckon my theory that the tobacco industry’s stupid ‘agree/disagree’ ad campaign is actually just a way of chucking millions at cash-strapped media outlets to buy their silence (and even backing from Granny) has been confirmed. By one simple fact. The new TV ad, which appeals to crass nationalism to argue that we shouldn’t adopt the Aussie plain-packaging law, is voiced by an Aussie.
There’s been a lot of coverage of breastfeeding “controversies” in the last couple of months.
We’ve reposted Queen of Thorns’ take on it…
Key’s claim that illegal euthanasia is happening in NZ has sparked outraged denials from medical professionals. But Key, of course, is not backing down. Once he’s opened his mouth he knows that he knows best.
The Cancer-mongers’ ad campaign is complete crap. Ineffectual ads that won’t get anyone on side. Doesn’t matter though. They’re not aiming to convince you with the ads themselves. The actual aim’s to put a few hundred thousand dollars in media outlets’ pockets with the promise of more for favourable coverage. The Herald made it a bit blatant though – running a fawning editorial the day after the first full-page ad.
The Australian Government has won a Supreme Court case on its plain packaging law. The tobacco companies are now planning to take it to the WTO. I hope Gillard responds to the law suit with a letter along the lines of: “Dear Cancer-mongers, Consider yourselves lucky we don’t nationalise your assets and pass a law to have you arrested for corporate homicide. Go fuck yourselves. Regards, Julia.”
I plan to start a business. I will be a job creator. 50 people will have jobs thanks to me. The whole community will benefit. My business will make poisoned puppy toys. Don’t get me wrong. They won’t kill every puppy who chews on them every time. Only 50% over the puppies’ lives. 30 puppies a year will die per job created. But – jobs! Does it make it better if I’m only selling the poison puppy toys in Australia?
John Key doesn’t want to go ahead with plain packaging of cigarettes. The cancer sellers would sue. It could cost a few million to beat them in the international courts (me, I would just create a law of corporate homicide and nationalise their NZ assets). Key baulks at the cost, the risk. But something in the hundreds of millions for free shares to looters? Key reckons that’s a great investment.
All the evidence (eg) shows that increasing the price of harmful substances is the best way to decrease their use and, particularly, their abuse. Minimum pricing is one effective measure to do that for alcohol. But John Key disagrees. Based on … nothing. He hasn’t even taken the time to understand what minimum pricing is.
Putting the CEO of the leading lobbying agency and industry promotional group for companies promoting sales of sugar, fat and alcohol on the Board of the public health agency supposed to prevent harm to young NZers is an outrageous act of cronyism.
Another day another story of National scrimping short term savings that will cost us much more in the long run. This time, they’re scrapping free sex advice for teenagers. It’s almost like they want more youth on the DPB to give them a scapegoat to demonise…
Hey John – where’s our “Brighter Future”? Hey National voters – was this what you voted for?
A short, poignant guest post.
It is the Nats’ belief that those on a benefit have fewer human rights than the rest of us. They can simply be told what to do. So now we have a compulsory vaccination debate.
John Key and Bill English couldn’t find $150million over four years for increased parental leave that would hugely benefit future children. Horrors – we would have to borrow! But they could find $100million straight away to pay international investment banks including Australian company Lazard’s to advise on asset sales that robs our children’s future and that nobody else wants. It’s a matter of priorities – money gets money, kids get nothing.
Steven Joyce’s personal fiefdom of Economic Development, Science and Innovation, Building and Housing, and Labour is confirmed. Now for the redundancies…
Will our children think of the welfare state, the tiger and the rhino as part of a mythologised Arcadia?
NZ milk production has apparently risen by 30% since 2005. And, according to sources used by frenz.co.nz, back in 2006 over 14 billion […]
The right to choose to end our lives is back on the political agenda with Maryan Street’s private member’s bill on euthanasia going into the ballot. If it’s drawn, it will be the third time in 17 years such a Bill has come up. The first one was voted down 2 to 1, the next lost by 3 votes. This time, success seems highly likely.
The rate of third world disease in this country is a crime. A crime against the poor perpetrated by the rich. They call it neoliberalism – the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the capitalist elite. They didn’t set out to make kids sick and kill them but it was an inevitable result of their actions and they don’t care. Now, what’s Labour’s take?
Since New Zealand skulled the neoliberal cool-aid, hospital admissions for infectious diseases, the diseases of poverty, increased 51% while dropping in the countries we should consider our peers. The working class life has gotten worse; our wages are lower, our jobs gone, and our families living in unhealthy houses owned by slum landlords.
The UN High Level Panel on Global Sustainability has delivered a report about creating a future that’s sustainable economically, socially and environmentally. Our government and political parties should be looking at it and measuring themselves against it.
25K Kiwi kids get infections like rheumatic fever and scabies each year. Disease sthey haven’t seen in Sweden since the 70s.We treat our kids like an expense, not an investment. Then we wonder why we have unhealthy, uneducated, unskilled adults and our country gets left behind. We’re becoming a 3rd world country. It’s 3rd world thinking that’s getting us there.
