Boiling the frog
There are many significant changes to our legal and democratic rights that are going on under this National government. Each on its own might look like a small thing, but collectively they add up to a major erosion of our freedom.
Social issues
human rights
No jury of their peers
Given the controversy surrounding the 2007 Urewera raids, the legal system should be bending over backwards to conduct a process that is above reproach. Instead, they are doing the exact opposite.
Welfare Working Group promotes eugenics
The Welfare Working Group wants to get poor women to breed less by giving them free long-term contraception. Sure, this is all an ‘Overton window‘ exercise but eugenics? Seriously? Trying to stop one ‘undesirable’ strata of society from breeding is one step from forced sterilisations. Has the Right reverted 80 years?
Milked
Our wages are so low that we can’t keep paying “international prices” for basic necessities. GST off food is just tinkering at the edges. We need more radical action.
Michael Lhaws’ irrelevancy proven
Yesterday, Lhaws’ SST piece called for involuntary sterilisation and reproduction licences (ie. forced abortions). Pure fascism. Today, no uproar. Once, his stoush with some school kids was news. Now, he offers a eugenic ‘solution’ to the underclass and not a peep. He’s truly a has-been. He won’t have that SST column for long.
3 time loser wins
In a surprise to no-one, John Key has appointed 3 time election loser Hekia Parata to replace the latest of his corrupt ministers to walk the plank – Pansy Wong. I’m hoping Parata will be less of a disgrace than Wong. It wouldn’t be hard, she would just have to actually try to answer questions in the House and actually do something about the wage gaps.
How much security?
9/11 seems to have driven America crazy. Most Americans, I think, don’t realise how much their country has changed around them. But one very visible manifestation of the brave new world is getting right in the public’s faces, that is the new generation of airport security scanners. Dubbed “porno scanners” for the body images that they produce, they have finally provoked a reaction from the great American public.
Criminal procedure bill
Simon Power yesterday introduced the new “Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill” to Parliament, touting it as “the biggest change to the criminal justice system in 50 years”. It certainly is that. It proposes doing away with trial by jury for a significant range of offences. It proposes allowing a trial to go ahead without the defendant present. In other words, it looks like yet another attack on fundamental rights…
Going backwards with National
It takes a lot to screw up a great country like New Zealand. It can’t be done overnight. But if you’re really negligent, anti-worker, and focused on hand outs to the rich, you can start to make things worse pretty quickly. Let’s look at the key measures of National’s performance, according to their own criteria:
Labour Day: Thank a unionist
The Nats and their repeaters are trying to paint unions as some kind of public enemy. How can we be a public enemy when we are the public? Unions are just people. Unions exist to work for our rights. Rights like the eight hour working day, the origin of the celebration of Labour Day. If you enjoy decent conditions at work, if you’re enjoying your long weekend, why not thank a unionist!
10/10/10
Today is 10 October 2010, a significant date for two serious reasons. And one silly one!
Paul Henry: we all pay for his unending bigotry
New Zealand’s most infamous anti-Ambassador Paul Henry has shamed us all once again. On TVNZ’s Breakfast this morning, Henry asked John Key (at […]
Key govt turn backs on police sex victims
It just gets worse: “The Government has rejected a secret forum’s recommendation that 10 women who alleged sexual misconduct by police officers get reparation.” Sadly, I think this is just the Nats being cheap and unwilling to face their responsibilities. They don’t care about the victims of police abuse, they care about saving a few dollars to pay for tax cuts.
Two peas from a pod
The activities of the dishonorable Minister for Social Development and Employment Paula Bennett has been increasingly reminding me of the blogger Whaleoil. Consider the number of common points of obnoxious behaviour. The similarities are quite striking. The main difference is that one is a blogger opinionating on current affairs and the other is a minister of the crown with the responsibility for large numbers of dependent people.
More Power to the man
So often, Parliamentary debates are pointless and pro forma. What a revelation, then, when Simon Power was so swayed by the Left’s MPs’ arguments that he hand-wrote an amendment to his Courts (Remote Participation) Bill guaranteeing defendants the right to choose to appear in person. A good day for rights. A good day for Parliament. Power for PM?
Beware the politics of gender
An article in the Guardian puts gender politics into perspective, with 1,000 “honour killings” a year in India, according to one recent study. For those who think that the world has moved on – it hasn’t.
I’m not sorry
I’m not sorry about Russel Norman standing up to Chinese imperialism, I’m proud that he did. While I don’t personally have a lot of […]
Won’t Somebody Think of the Children?
According to a new report: “New Zealand is a great place for children if their parents have a good income, live in a warm dry house and are well educated.” However if you’re not born into a privileged household, then death and disease “is worse than that of all but two [developed] countries, Mexico and Turkey.”
Expel Israeli ambassador
Heavily-armed Israeli commandos have murdered at least 19 civilians in an unprovoked attack in international waters on a flotilla of ships trying to get aid to occupied Gaza. Reports indicate several times that many civilians are wounded. Details are sketchy because Israel has taken control of the ships and detained surviving the passengers and crew.
Nats attack public service neutrality
I’ve been having a look at the new advice on the civil service code of conduct. It is a clear attempt by the Nats to make sure the civil service is ‘politically correct’ for their purposes. Perhaps they’re tired of getting official advice that says ‘don’t cut that, it’s good value for money’, ‘don’t fund that, it’s stupid’, and ‘don’t pass that law, it might cause more murders’.
Apologise
Congratulations John on your latest speech. We especially like the line “Let me be clear: there is no room for separatism in New […]
Garner coy on accusations
The day after Zet’s post here on homophobic, imbalanced reporting by TV3’s Duncan Garner, Brian Edward’s wrote a scathing detailed deconstruction of Garner‘s […]
Three strikes?
Among the reports released by the Attorney General, three in particular make for interesting reading. They relate to three of National’s core policies — three strikes, automatic DNA testing, and “getting tough” on beneficiaries. The Attorney General finds that each of these policies is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act.
More jobs for the old “boys”
Back at the start of the month Marty G pointed out that Brash’s useless 2025 Taskforce looked like nothing so much as a […]
On the scrap heap
Call me old fashioned if you will, but I like the idea that reforms of government activity should be concieved and implemented by […]
Standing up for our rights
Remember the petition to state your opposition to Paula Bennett’s attack on our privacy rights. The idea is it will be tabled in […]
Stand up for free speech, stand against Bully State
As you know, when Natasha Fuller and Jennifer Johnston spoke up against the Key government’s cancelling of the Training Incentive Allowance, Paula Bennett […]
The Herald soils its pulpit
Thundering from the pulpit is a fine old editorial tradition, and The Herald has often held forth on the rule of law. Starting […]
Horrific and ugly
That’s what Bennett is calling the Right’s attacks on the women she released confidential information about. As if she didn’t know that would […]
Beware of unbridled government
‘Beware’ that was Mary Wilson’s conclusion to her interview with Paula Bennett yesterday. The audio is here: Beware of Bully Bennett – Beware […]
Foreshore review dead-on
The Foreshore and Seabed review panel have reported back with the recommendation that the law be scrapped and people be allowed to attempt […]
Crusher crushes rights
Collins has given us a little teaser of what’s in her car-crushing law. As any fool could have predicted the fascist in her […]
Not my Leaders
Hide and Banks do not strike me as the kind of men you feel safe about having too much power. They never have […]
Memo: Re: Torture
“You know what is in room 101, Winston. Everyone knows what is in room 101” The release last week of four memos from […]
Turning a blind eye
Unlike some of the other Standard writers, I don’t usually find Fran O-Sullivan too bad but her reporting of Key’s trip to China […]
Tories bulldoze human rights, your rights
The Attorney-General, National’s Chris Finalyson, has declared that the ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ Bill that National/ACT (and Finlayson himself) are about to vote […]