Is Matthew Hooton becoming a socialist?
Occasional Standard reader Matthew Hooton has written a cogent column on industrial relations in which he realises and accepts that wages for ordinary workers are too low.
Social issues
Property price decline
What would happen if the house prices of Auckland, Queenstown, and other centres of very high debt went into substantial and long term decline?
Nurses deserve our support
Perhaps the Labour-led coalition might choose to reflect on it priorities – the sufficient funding of essential public services or buying billion-dollar war machines from the Donald Trump regime.
Free Speech.
It’s a principle.
The free speech coalition that is actually quite expensive
The Free Speech coalition, formed to protect freedom of speech for the far right, has amongst its members some whose views on what freedom of speech actually is are unusual.
Unparliamentary Language
“His brain could revolve inside a peanut shell for a thousand years without touching the sides”
Cake makers and fascists
A Warkworth cake maker has refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. The situation raises the question should she be allowed to discriminate against others on the grounds that she is exercising her rights of religious belief.
The trade war
The speed of the growing trade war between the United States and China will hit New Zealand. Our long term diplomatic arc, such […]
Dotcom loses in the Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal has released its decision in the Kim Dotcom extradition case. The case has had a lot of resources thrown […]
The extent of the right to free speech
Lauren Southern’s cancelled lecture has caused some debate about what freedom of speech is, is it absolute, and if not where is the line to be drawn?
Far right Canadian activist wants to come to New Zealand to insult local communities
Far right journalist Lauren Southern wants to come to New Zealand to give a speech which will no doubt insult various communities. Should we let her in?
Russell McVeagh
Dame Margaret Beazley has concluded in her report into Russell McVeagh, New Zealand’s Goldman Sachs, that it has serious problems including instances of excessive drinking and in some instances crude, drunken, and sexually inappropriate behaviour, a failure of governance and pockets of bullying.
Daily Review 05/07/2018
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
The teachers’ strike
Teachers have indicated they will also be seeking a significant catch up in salaries and job conditions after a decade of neglect.
The right wing media’s infatuation with breeding
Elements in the media clearly think that the payment of a modest amount to families with young babies will cause them to breed babies for a business.
Families Package and Auckland Regional Fuel tax kick in
Labour’s Family Package and the Auckland Regional Fuel tax have both kicked in.
The future of the left
Australian Guardian columnist Van Badham writes “the future of the left is bright if it looks like Jacinda Ardern and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes.” She concludes “We can hope the influence of Jacinda Ardern and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes spread, or we can ensure that it does. The stakes for the marginalised remain life and death.” Very worth a read.
Daily Review 28/06/2018
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Full retreat
The United States Supreme Court decision to upheld Trump’s travel ban is but the latest example of bad news for international human rights we have had over recent times.
Student Fees
Reposted from Nick Kelly’s Blog One of the big policies the NZ Labour Party took into the 2017 election was to start reintroducing free […]
The All Blacks should give up
The All Blacks keep winning everything and it is incredibly bad for the game.
It’s a girl!
Congratulations to Jacinda and Clarke on the birth of a girl!
Where have our rights gone?
Great to see that the State Services Commissioner has widened the investigation into the use of private investigators hired by the state against its citizens. But. They should go further.
Pulling Teeth For Poverty
Poverty is directly responsible for a growing number of people losing their teeth to decay. Adults unable to afford dental treatment are resorting to using pliers to extract their own teeth. Meanwhile, children as young as one are also losing their teeth. The numbers losing their teeth is phenomenal. During the 2015 and 2016 period alone over 29,000 children had teeth removed and over 6,600 children were hospitalised because of rotting teeth.
Coming up, Babies!
Jacinda’s baby is going to be big news soon.
In defence of Eugenie Sage
Eugenie Sage has been criticised for granting OIO consent to the foreign buy out of a water bottling company and a piece of sensitive land. But from the looks of the details that have been released she may have had no choice.
Nats indignant that Twyford is not fixing their housing crisis quickly enough
Judith Collins has criticised Phi Twyford because after eight months as Minister he has not fixed a crisis that took nine years to create.
Kiwis trust in Government surges
At the same time that business confidence is in negative territory overall trust in the Government has surged. Why is this?
Caption contest
Keep it seemly.
Donald Trump’s unusual diplomatic behaviour
Donald Trump has chosen to insult Canadian leader Justin Trudeau and buddy up to North Korean leader Kim Jon Un all in the same week.
Killing Them Softly With…
In New Zealand there is sufficient evidence to show that poor peoples’ lives are cut short because of poverty related poor nutrition. While food banks are alleviating the worst impacts of hunger, their kindness may well be contributing to the problem. Food poverty is a systemic issue and requires a systemic response, a response that successive governments are able to avoid while charities continue to provide a buffer for the system.
Who gives a hooton about climate change?
Matthew Hooton and Fran O’Sullivan have claimed that the Government’s decision to ban off shore petroleum exploration is “Orwellian”, part of an attempt to divert attention from other issues, bad for the environment and bad for jobs. Are they right?
The Northcote by election
The Northcote election could be be extremely close.
lprent: Update. It was close. The preliminary results show a 1362 margin, reduced from about 6210 last election. The turnout was a bit under half of the previous election – not bad for a by-election.
Populism and population decline
As we enter the era of relative world wide population declines, we are are seeing populist movements trying to put the finger in the dike. The two are related. Big cities beset by congestion and housing issues as the young flood into them. Populistic movements driven from left-behind areas. Voting patterns show the distinct differences between the large urban centres and those in the declining regions.
Collins keeps Housing Corp P debacle in news cycle
Judith Collins has managed to keep the Housing Corp methamphetamine story alive for another news cycle by attacking poor people who take drugs.
Dud advice
The methamphetamine debacle continues with questions raised about if the Auckland District Health Board provided confidential information to Housing New Zealand about its tenants. And Simon Bridges directly contradicts Bill English by claiming that the last Government had no idea the guidelines were not fit for purpose.