The Standard

Social issues

Categories under Social issues

Slum rentals in the brighter future

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, June 8th, 2017 - 24 comments

The Sunday Star Times had some gut wrenching coverage of the conditions in some of Auckland’s slum boarding houses. How can anyone vote for three more years of this?

Medical marijuana on prescription

Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, June 2nd, 2017 - 11 comments

The Government starts to make cannabidiol more available.

An appropriate apology and an issue that needs fixing

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, June 2nd, 2017 - 103 comments

The Ministry of Social Development illegally penalised a woman who refused to name the rapist father of her child. The case shines a spotlight on an issue that needs fixing.

Tax cuts and 1600 deaths per year

Written By: - Date published: 2:53 pm, May 31st, 2017 - 16 comments

One of the nasty little fishhooks in the budget was the cutting of the home insulation scheme (Warm Up New Zealand). The scheme had a benefit-cost ratio of $6 for every $1 invested. Around 1,600 people die in NZ a year of cold-related factors. Hope the tax cuts are worth it eh?

A generous donation to Labour

Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, May 31st, 2017 - 34 comments

Thank you Robert Smellie QC, I’m sure your donation will be put to great use. Smellie said: “I am a practising Anglican and as such I see socialism as being far closer to the Gospel than free enterprise.”

English on our low wage growth

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, May 30th, 2017 - 40 comments

Bill English knows that our low wage economy is a ticking time-bomb for the government. He must be starting to get worried. The repeated promises of jam tomorrow are well worn out now.

National promise to “monitor the rental market” – so where do tenants send reports of rent gouging?

Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, May 30th, 2017 - 35 comments

In the wake of the accommodation supplement fiasco Joyce has promised that the government will monitor the rental market.
Questions that the media may wish to ask Mr J – Where do tenants send reports of rent gouging? – Exactly what action will the government take when they receive these reports?

The cigarette crime spree

Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, May 27th, 2017 - 74 comments

The cigarette crime spree is a real problem for National. Their “law and order” credentials are in tatters.

Ban cigarettes, find a way to compensate dairy owners for a transitional period.

NRT: A constitutional change

Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, May 26th, 2017 - 8 comments

I/S at No Right Turn writes: “The Court has ruled that the High Court was right to declare that National’s 2010 prisoner voting restrictions (the ones which were so shabby and shoddily passed that they brought Parliament into disrepute) were inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act

The Labour lite budget

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, May 25th, 2017 - 25 comments

From pre announced budget initiatives it is clear that today’s budget will provide National the opportunity to announce watered down insipid versions of current Labour Party policies.

What Now?

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, May 24th, 2017 - 60 comments

Where to from here?

Geddis on TPP11

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, May 23rd, 2017 - 10 comments

Geddis: “So either Bill English was lying to Susie Ferguson on the radio, or his advisors lied to him about what TPP11 will require, or the Crown’s lawyers are lying to the Waitangi Tribunal.”

Voter transitions 2011 2014

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, May 22nd, 2017 - 31 comments


Peter Ellis from Peter’s Stats Stuff

Let’s green the red zone

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, May 22nd, 2017 - 91 comments

A Christchurch community group has come out with an outstanding solution for what to do with red zone land that is currently unusable.

The Greens – Budget for All Mothers

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, May 22nd, 2017 - 33 comments

Some great ideas in The Greens “Budget for All Mothers”. Surely no “data driven” “social investment” party could be opposed?

Assange and Manning

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, May 20th, 2017 - 36 comments

Swedish prosecutors are dropping their seven year old preliminary investigation into an allegation of rape against Julian Assange. Chelsea Manning has been released from prison after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence.

Little replies to property specualtors

Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, May 19th, 2017 - 60 comments

Good piece by Andrew Little where he addresses the arguments of the property speculators. “It’s common sense. Taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidising speculators and helping them outbid home buyers.”

Suicide, Mike King, and mental health services

Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, May 19th, 2017 - 38 comments

On the issues of suicide and mental health, the choice is pretty clear. Bungling and abuse from National, a positive plan for action from Labour.

Armstrong demolishes Nats on housing

Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, May 18th, 2017 - 28 comments

John Armstrong is not impressed: Government’s handling of housing crisis lurches from chaotic to shambolic

The other conference

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, May 18th, 2017 - 26 comments

Richard Harman on the Politik blog: “Overall, to use a favourite Government saying, it was an ‘untidy’ weekend capped by a flat speech from English which saw delegates ignore placards they’d been given to wave when he finished speaking.” The B-team is missing John Key.

Sledge of the day

Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, May 17th, 2017 - 12 comments

Compare two housing plans

Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, May 17th, 2017 - 186 comments

It must be election year, because National has admitted that the market has failed, and swallowed the dead rat of state building. A useful graphic summary in The Herald lets you compare National and Labour’s housing plans…

Nat housing announcement – far too little far too late

Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, May 16th, 2017 - 83 comments

Useful but – mostly re-announcing existing developments, far too little, far too late, and open to property speculators…

Property speculator panic

Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, May 15th, 2017 - 128 comments

Labour has set the cat among the property speculator pigeons, and they don’t like it at all.

The looming battle over property

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, May 15th, 2017 - 122 comments

Housing may be the issue that decides this year’s election.  And if Labour wins Andrew Little will have a major crisis to deal with, one that he has to solve.

Open Mike 15/05/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 15th, 2017 - 55 comments

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

Open Mike 14/05/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 14th, 2017 - 46 comments

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

Open Mike 13/05/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 13th, 2017 - 104 comments

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

Nats propose centrally planned economy

Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, May 12th, 2017 - 21 comments

Not even joking.

Labour’s mental health policy

Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, May 12th, 2017 - 13 comments

Labour’s mental health policy has had a good reception, especially in contrast to National’s systematic under-funding and arrogant response to the issue.

Open Mike 12/05/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 12th, 2017 - 106 comments

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …