Gutless backdown will cost money and lives
So, National has failed to act on drink driving. The Director of the National Addiction Centre calls it “scandalous”. While recidivist and youth […]
Social issues
The real economy vs the casino
For the business pages, it’s Reserve Bank week and once again the banks want the Governor to push up the price of money, […]
The underclass
Remember when John Key used to talk about the “underclass”. Much recently of course John Key’s policy direction has been more about pandering to the wealthy elite, so you don’t hear so much from John Key about his concerns for the underclass anymore. But worries about the underclass still concern some people.
Destroying the School Trustees Association
The NZSTA is supposed to represent its members – School Boards of Trustees. Instead they have become little more than a conduit of Minister Tolley’s National Standards propaganda.
I Owe My Soul….to the Company Store
The words of this old song date back to the 1800’s when dominant and rapacious employers in small company towns would require their […]
Nats stand up for loan sharks
Disgraceful to see that National and Act have voted down Carol Beaumont’s moderate and sensible bill to take action against loan sharks.
All we got from National was weak spin and misdirection, while they sat there and committed to doing nothing. The result will be more Kiwis getting ripped off and abused.
Empty promises on employment law
National’s promises aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on. They’ve broken plenty and downgraded most of the rest to “aspirational goals”. Now John Key’s current anti-worker employment policies add a whole new chapter to the list of broken election promises.
The euthanasia debate
A terminally-ill Auckland doctor writes to New Zealand Doctor magazine arguing for the legalisation of euthanasia in New Zealand.
A new state housing agenda
The country is short about 10,000 houses and many of the houses we do have (mostly privately owned rentals) are unhealthy. The housing shortage was a driver of the last housing boom and is still keeping house prices excessively high, while poor quality housing means higher health costs, more sick days, and kids that are sick so often it disrupts their education. It would be sensible on every level to build the extra houses we need, and the government should take the lead role.
Economic step-change or English side-step?
Beware of a Finance Minister who is selective in the use of statistics. This was Bill English’s answer to a patsy question in Parliament about National and the economy…
The irony of the confluence
There is a great review of “There Once Was An Island: Te Henua E Noho†at Reading the Maps. It is well worth reading and so are the comments. However ‘maps’ also opined on the weekend about where the film was shown. It expressed my feeling of being caught in some dreary surreal cyberpunk novel with the protests, police, fat cat capitalists, the desperate on their slot machines, and a documentary about losing your culture to the climate and change.
Abortion debate the silver bullet Labour needs -not!
I was talking to an old friend last night. She’s been a Labour voter/supporter/activist nearly all her adult life. She lives in Rotorua. […]
A chilling vision of the future?
Cutting education is the dumbest thing a government can do. You want a prosperous, clean, low-crime, happy, dynamic society with a bright future? You want to invest in education. Even if you’re a Tory you want education – smart drones produce more than uneducated ones. Yet these morons are cutting education at both ends. Where does this lead?
Met the Rat, went to a documentary
Today has been a busy day. Lyn and Briar have the NZ premiere of their documentary shortly, which limited what I could do […]
Vince’s Latest Cable
Over in the UK, Vince Cable, the former LibDem Deputy leader who predicted the Great Recession and the need to break up and regulate the banks, is now responsible for business and tertiary education. In the tertiary sector he has a radical new idea for funding.
Fixing the election date
Pundit writer and legal academic Andrew Geddis has been doing some important work on electoral law, including contributions to the select committee that is looking at the 2011 referendum on MMP and the reform of campaign funding practices. You should head on over to Pundit and have a look.
McCully backs down – for now
Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully says “we don’t need to have winners and losers here” but he has had to bow to […]
Open mike 17/07/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
What’s a university to do?
Some people still think of universities as fusty old ivory towers disconnected from the real world. That hasn’t been true for decades. Our current universities and tertiary institutions are business, they are structured and run to maximise their income in whatever funding framing the government of the day has in place. Predictably, the Nats latest proposed sausage machine funding model is a disaster.
Right to protest up for change
RadioNZ is reporting that one of the men who avoided a conviction for his attack on the Waihopai spy base says a proposed law change is aimed at shutting down legitimate protest.
Arming the police
In the shadow of recent police shootings we are being presented with the idea of increased police access to firearms as a virtual fait accompli. I’m opposed to the proposal. It won’t make the police any safer, and it will put the public at risk.
NZ Herald tells Collins to reset compass on private prison
The NZ Herald editorial criticising National’s pursuit of a private prison in Auckland should make Judith Collins and her cabinet colleagues sit up and rethink.
I was just following the market’s orders
Should be no surprise to anyone that the Nats and Maori Party are cutting help for tobacco addicts while upping the cost of their ciggies. They don’t care about better health. Don’t care about helping poor people get off an expensive habit. It’s all about sopping the poor and give aways for the rich. But you know who did grind my gears? Those tabacco execs the other week.
Party Central another Key fiasco
“Major festival events linked to the 2011 Rugby World Cup could be shifted to Wellington because of Auckland’s party central fiasco, Government sources say.” – Tracy Watkins
Wait, “Auckland’s party central fiasco”? It was John Key who came up with the term, and forced the councils into the Queens Wharf site. But the media are happy to let him wriggle out of responsbility again.
Vote! Kean for Columbia
By David Farrar, Keith Ng, Rob Salmond, and Tim Watkin. Many people are concerned about the quality of public affairs journalism in New […]
Standards headlines
Two different headlines on national standards this morning paint an interesting picture. Tolley is a disgrace and her national standards are worse. Get rid of both of them.
Murdering statistics
Something that really boiled my blood a few weeks back, but which I haven’t had a chance to write about yet was this post by National Party pollster David Farrar on the topic of a recent lull in homicides in a single police district. It was the worst kind of politics – a person who knows his argument is false taking advantage of the suffering of people and the ignorance of his audience for petty party political points scoring.
RSA Animate – Crises of Capitalism
This is based on a lecture at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).
It is a hell of an effective way to present an economic argument.
Williams and Haden
Minor bits of “people news” this weekend. Andrew Williams has thrown his hat in to the ring for Supercity Mayor. And Andy Haden has finally been fired resigned from his role as RWC Ambassador (exit stage right, still blaming the media).
Should’ve done it before, John
It seems John Key is now belatedly wading in to look at whether it’s at last time to cut Andy Haden loose as […]
Tolley lives behind The Wall
Anne Tolley is on record. She told the Principals gathered at their annual conference that rather than run to the media that they need to talk to her directly.
Lets see some of those who have voiced their opposition to Nationals Standards so far…..
Archives NZ merger set to be another “Super Stuff-up”
The ODT has obtained a report from the Crown Law Office via the OIA, which rather diplomatically suggests there will need to be some […]
Child support
According to the headlines “Inland Revenue is owed more than $1.8 billion by parents who have shirked their financial responsibilities”. Dig a bit deeper and the picture is not as bad as it looks. “Absent dads” don’t need to be demonised by the likes of Bob McCoskrie.
Back to the Future – Education in the UK
God knows what the National Standards are designed to do – it can’t be to lift achievement. Even the Minister says that is […]
Socialist football
I thought Germany were going to power in to the finals – but Spain had other plans! Funny old game. According to football legend John Barnes the best football teams are socialist in nature. They play for each other, and individual brilliance is often subservient to the common good…