Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, February 18th, 2013 - 80 comments
Unions have been under concerted attack for several decades. Though weakened, they still produce results for workers. NZ Teachers’ Unions act on sound research, aiming to provide a quality and fair education system for all Kiwis. Global federations are campaigning against anti-worker corporates, like DHL.
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, February 17th, 2013 - 49 comments
I wasn’t initially impressed with Ed Miliband, but I am impressed with his success, and with his latest policies he’s re-establishing British Labour’s credentials on the left. What are the lessons for us in NZ?
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 pm, February 16th, 2013 - 67 comments
There have been various Kiwi taxonomies – attempts to label and describe social types in NZ. In comments Ad proposed this interesting one, highlighting the tensions created by inequality. Thanks for permission to post it…
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, February 16th, 2013 - 81 comments
Yesterday I rather shamelessly threadjacked one of Irish’s posts on a Colin Espiner column in the direction of the Universal Basic Income idea. In this post I want to also shamelessly filch from Gareth Morgan’s book The Big Kahuna, specifically Ch.5 “The Five Big Issues” and wrap it into a quick read. (At some points […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:32 pm, February 15th, 2013 - 78 comments
Scott thinks Richard Prosser’s done us a favour.
Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, February 15th, 2013 - 8 comments
I/S at No Right turn writes on the Ombudsman’s report which finds some of the Nats’ plans for charter schools to be unconstitutional and dangerous.
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, February 15th, 2013 - 22 comments
Irony meters everywhere pegged their meters as Bill English accused some bosses of being “greedy”, and not paying their staff enough. Hey Double Dipton – those greedy bosses? – they’re just following your example…
Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, February 14th, 2013 - 89 comments
Stargazer at The Hand Mirror has a unique take on the Prosser affair. Prosser claims to have been motivated by concerns for his daughters’ rights and freedoms – which raises some interesting questions…
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, February 14th, 2013 - 89 comments
The Living Wage Coalition has released the results of their research, calculating that a wage of $18.40 is needed for workers and their families to have a decent life and participate in society. About 40% of workers currently earn less. The pressure is now on bosses of businesses and public bodies to pay the living wage or explain why they deserve a decent life but their workers don’t.
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, February 14th, 2013 - 137 comments
Yesterday’s Roy Morgan poll looks good for Labour, but individual polls are noisy. Much more importantly, better measures such as the Pundit poll of polls are also looking good for the political Left. Let’s see Labour and the Greens extend their lead to establish a clear majority, without NZF or any other party holding the balance of power…
Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, February 13th, 2013 - 35 comments
White collar crime – fraud and tax evasion – is in the news again with a new report on the impact. The costs are estimated as several Billion per year. Meanwhile the Nats put all their energy into demonising and chasing $22 Million in welfare fraud.
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, February 13th, 2013 - 22 comments
The Salavation Army “State of the Nation” report is out today, and, as Metiria Turei says, it makes depressing reading. It describes a nation of increasing inequalities, with those on low incomes, and their children, being hit particularly hard.
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 pm, February 12th, 2013 - 126 comments
Prosser, just f*cken resign. There’s no place for the likes of you. You’ve been elected purely to make up numbers for Peters. And you couldn’t even do that without being a disgusting bigot. You’re not the only rightwinger playing up race fears. Hooton claims Indonesia will invade due to climate change. Key tells scary stories of made-up boat people. But you’re the worst. Just go.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, February 12th, 2013 - 49 comments
The concept of a living wage is one that just makes good sense to me. A wage should be enough to live on, right? Because it’s a wage? Because what’s the point if it doesn’t?
Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, February 12th, 2013 - 31 comments
Never mind Valentines Day. This February 14 is One Billion Rising…
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, February 12th, 2013 - 146 comments
Bad jobs numbers and a succession of collapses of major businesses weighing your government down? You need: distraction! How about an old classic from the New Zealand politician’s playbook – the Yellow Peril! Passed on by Seddon and Peters, Yellow Peril’s now being wielded by John Key as he talks of vague, unsubstantiated threats that boatloads of Indonesians are heading for our shores.
Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, February 11th, 2013 - 8 comments
The Government’s Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill is receiving submissions until this Wednesday, 13 February. This Bill needs drastic alteration, as it puts the Family Court out of financial reach of many of those who most need it, reduces needed rights to legal representation, and forces those who’ve been experiencing violence into inappropriate mediation as it’s cheaper. Best we all submit against it…
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, February 11th, 2013 - 25 comments
Convicted fraudster and Herald columnist Damien Grant says ‘good riddance’ to manufacturing in his latest piece. A lower dollar would make his next smartphone more expensive, he says. When not in jail, Grant’s a receiver. Things are good for him at the moment. But, I’ll tell him this: even carrion birds ultimately need a healthy herd to scavenge off.
Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, February 10th, 2013 - 55 comments
In 2009 Key personally declared “War on P”. Predictably, it’s now clear that he lost. In this, as it seems in all matters, John Key is all promise, no deliver.
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, February 7th, 2013 - 103 comments
Mr Fixit Steven Joyce has been handed the Novopay fiasco, and the first pay round under his watch is the worst yet. Teachers are currently owed almost $12 Million in missing wages. Is this a conspiracy, or just a good old fashioned cock up?
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, February 6th, 2013 - 9 comments
After a fascinating debate in Britain, their gay marriage bill has passed it’s first hurdle with a huge majority. This bodes well…
Written By: - Date published: 6:49 am, February 5th, 2013 - 279 comments
At the moment the Left and Right political blocs are poised more or less evenly in the polls. So how do we grow the Left vote to win in 2014?
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 5th, 2013 - 141 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, February 4th, 2013 - 88 comments
Is an absurd public endorsement by someone as politically damaged as Trevor Mallard actually an endorsement or is Trevor trying to undermine his leader? That’s a question I’m asking myself after reading Audrey Young’s piece on the caucus vote today.
Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, February 3rd, 2013 - 128 comments
There’s a thought in some parts of Labour that they need to ‘put the Greens in their place’, then they will get back the votes that the Greens have taken from them, and that will lead to victory. It’s an Underpants Gnome strategy, missing the crucial link of how doing what they want to do emotionally results in the supposed objective. Better to build together.
Written By: - Date published: 3:37 pm, February 1st, 2013 - 57 comments
David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week – on the big year ahead.
We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, January 31st, 2013 - 78 comments
While Labour flounders around talking about 4 bedroom houses for $485,000 (who wants a four bedroom house, anyway), Metiria Turei cut to the quick in a question to Key: “has he never visited his own electorate and taken a look at homes such as those on Hobsonville Road, Cyril Crescent, and Mona Vale that are stand-alone family homes costing around $300,000?”
Written By: - Date published: 4:27 pm, January 30th, 2013 - 63 comments
David Bain has filed a claim against Judith Collins. Here’s The Herald’s / APNZ quick announcement.
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, January 30th, 2013 - 54 comments
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.
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, January 30th, 2013 - 91 comments
The macho posturing we’ve seen from David Shearer since conference never quite gelled with the Shearer I knew. I’d always thought of him as a nice guy out of his depth, so the public defaming of David Cunliffe and the ‘I’m in charge’ theatrics always jarred. Brian Edwards argues the confusion in the Shearer brand […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:03 pm, January 29th, 2013 - 16 comments
Scott examines National’s line that they aren’t “hands-off”, and finds them, if not entirely neo-liberal, still pretty dedicated to their worship of the invisible hand of the (private) market.
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