Tony Ryall, like Anne Tolley, is facing a big fight over wages. The health budget is chock-full of cuts as it is and Ryall says there simply isn’t any money to give doctors pay rises as they and other workers face nearly 6% inflation next year. The government can find billions for tax cuts for the rich but not to pay doctors and teachers. Priorities.
Georgina Te Heuheu and Bill English have been saying the money allocated in the Budget to PEDA might go to some other organisation. That would be a huge abuse of the Budget process, whereby the Government asks Parliament for permission to spend money on specific activities. Of course, really the Nats are just trying to muddy the water as questions on PEDA continue.
No, I’m not staying up for it. Have fun, those of you who do! Guess I’ll be kicking myself if the All Whites […]
“After the goldrush†Oil painting and words – Chuck Joseph 2010
When the circus left town, we had a parade,
the band played on and floats were made.
I looked sideways as they passed,…
Several schools have spoken out against the imposition of national standards, and three have gone so far as to completely refuse to cooperate. This creates a dilemma for the Nats. How will they respond? Not, I hope, by following one moronic suggestion to cut funding to schools
Currently the “hunt” is on for whistleblowers in cases both within NZ, and internationally. When a whistleblower takes on a big organisation over a matter of genuine public significance they are taking a risk, in some cases a huge risk. Let’s hope that there will always be people who are brave enough to make sure that we the people know the truth.
Of the political parties in Parliament, only the Greens are likely to oppose the ‘new’ foreshore and seabed law. So, the Greens will be the only place for disaffected Maori Party voters to turn to. And why not? Their values are very similar. I expect that the Greens will make a strong play for the party votes in the Maori seats, winning over a lot of people who feel betrayed by the Maori Party.
Details on PEDA are still very thin but it is increasingly looking like public money has been hijacked to help the political prospects of National’s Pacific Islanders. The service delivery aspect of the Pacific Island Affairs Ministry seems set to be turned over to this private organisation. The lack of honest answers from the minister only deepens the suspicion that something very dodgy is afoot.
So – anyone else sitting up watching the game? (This thread a politics free zone!)
I really like my children’s school – I think they work hard to keep those young minds engaged and bodies active. I know it’s a job that is pretty demanding, and hugely important. So when I hear that three-quarters of teachers are feeling unprepared and rushed as they work to implement National’s new national standards (according to a NZEI survey) I start to feel apprehensive.
For me the main scandal about taxpayer funding this week is the fact that we have all contributed $209,000 towards helping Nick Smith […]
National’s budget broke a number of economic promises. One that’s not been emphasised enough is their commitment to be fiscally neutral. Labour got New Zealand to $0 net government debt. Now we are headed back into the red again and National is making it worse, not to create jobs to help ordinary Kiwis through the recession, but to fund tax cuts for their rich mates.
So John Key is going to get to fly over and see the All Whites at the World Cup. Maybe he could do a match report for Radio New Zealand whilst he’s there. The World’s biggest sporting event by far, the Football World Cup, features New Zealand for the first time in 28 years. Can Radio New Zealand afford to send someone to cover this major story for our country? No.
We all know what a disaster America’s ‘No Child Left Behind’, the inspiration for the Nats’ National Standards has been. It seems Australia has gone down a very similar track and the results have been the same – teaching to the test, grade inflation, and institutional cheating as teachers and schools find themselves being judged solely on their students’ grades.
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.”
Last Queen’s Birthday Weekend 10 people died on the roads and 32 were seriously injured. Last Easter another 12 dead, the highest toll in 18 years. This Queen’s Birthday police announced a massive crackdown on speeding. Idiots such as DPF denounced it as a “revenue gathering exercise”. But events have proved them very wrong, with the lowest toll in 54 years.
One of the most popular uses of trusts is to hide income for tax avoidance or evasion. So, I was happy to read about the IRD’s success in a recent court case against two surgeons. The court found these two very rich men had used trusts to avoid tax to the tune of $168,000. The case will have big ramifications, potentially shutting down one of the biggest tax rorts in the country.
With Len Brown beating Banks in the polls the right have come out swinging.
Let’s take a quick look at the anatomy of this dirt digging beast.
Fancy wasting a little time on a slow Sunday? Some viral video, courtesy of Guardian blogger, Jemima Kiss.
National really, really wants to sell assets – it’ll be worth a fortune to their rich mates who can’t seem to generate any success on their own without a government hand out. But the public is firmly against asset sales. It would be an election losing campaign issue. So, National will play a game of ambiguous promises and confusing financial moves to sell without appearing to sell.
Two Electoral Reform bills are currently accepting submissions, and each contain one particularly large flaw. Firstly, as I commented on the Electoral (Finance […]
National Party Trade Minister Tim Groser is facing allegations he was behaving drunk and rowdy on a flight back from a trade meeting in Dubai. Though a humourous image, if true, this is unacceptable behaviour from a Minister. Groser needs to chill – maybe he should’ve smoked that spliff he denied taking instead?
After the first shocking news, Israel took control of information about their act of high seas piracy. From jamming the airwaves to stop the media reporting from the boats shortly after they boarded them, to keeping the protesters detained, they ensured that their side was the only one that had the facts.
The next Fabian seminar on the Resilient Economy will be held in Christchurch on next Tuesday, 8th June. Speakers are Rick Boven from […]
Recent posts and comments on the Standard have suggested that National may call an early election in 2011 because the Rugby World Cup’s […]
The Budget is turning into something of an embarrassment for the media. Even before it had been released, the journos in their lock-up had written pieces proclaiming it a hugely popular success. The evidence says they got it wrong. The people think they’ll be worse off. Journos need to stop deciding public opinion before it has had a chance to form, let alone be sampled.
Bill English in the House yesterday: “In the Budget the projected wage increases exceed projected inflation.”
From the Budget: change in real wages over March 2011 year, -1.4%. change in real years in year to March 2012, -0.6%
You’ve got to hand it to John Key. He’s so good at distraction he could be a rodeo clown. Yesterday, a classic case in point. Asked about his government’s cuts to early childhood education, Key talked about getting the cruelest cut instead. The journos were so surprised they forgot their questions. Mission accomplished. But we can still examine what the Nats are cutting.
John Armstrong in today’s NZHerald asks whether the love affair with Key is over: After an 18-month dream run during which National had polled consistently above 50 per cent – and as high as 57 per cent – Sunday’s poll may be viewed as a watershed and the end (finally) of the honeymoon with voters. But that may be too simplistic.
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.
Just had a look at David Cunliffe on the Nation and was quite impressed.
Worth a look to see someone running a left economic argument well.
McCully, Key, listen up. The real problem with Haden’s comment isn’t using the term ‘darkie’. The problem is he thinks limiting the number of Polynesians in their team is a key to the Crusaders success. Something the Blues should imitate. Haden apologised to the ‘darkie’ line. Hasn’t apologised for the real racism. How much is he being paid by the government? Do we want a racist representative?
This from McCully – It is not up to the Minister of Sport to investigate allegations of racial team selection, Murray McCully says. […]
Kerre Woodham’s just penned an endorsement of the three strikes act.
She admits that it probably won’t do what it sets out to do. She accepts that it might be unjust. She understands that it will be expensive. Nevertheless she supports it.
Here’s why…
Immediately after the Budget, some of the political commentators said National had triumphed and caught the Left wrong-footed. Wrong. In reality, Kiwis are not buying National’s spin. The Left’s argument against tax cuts for the rich is gaining resonance. Workers see a tax swindle. The Nats have played their only trump and they’re finding it hasn’t worked.
National’s second budget has induced a lot of inflation – 5.9% over the next year. Interest rates on term deposits are just 4.4%. Collectively, New Zealand’s savers will be $2.3 billion worse off in a year’s time than they are now, thanks to the Budget. The flipside is the real value of mortgages will fall. Borrowers win and savers lose. I thought English said he was encouraging savings.
