The Standard

Social issues

Categories under Social issues

Rheumatic fever – treat the cause

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, November 8th, 2016 - 14 comments

Millions of dollars are being poured into reducing rheumatic fever in NZ. However rates of the disease in Auckland are at least double the target level – and rising.

Hooray Henry!

Written By: - Date published: 6:04 pm, November 7th, 2016 - 55 comments

Paul Henry is to leave TV3. Did two pairs of tits lead to him getting the arse?

John Key’s Paradise

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, November 6th, 2016 - 83 comments

This really happened. Contains crimes against music, dance, fashion, and irony. Also some recent headlines from “John Key’s Paradise”…

Be afraid!

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, November 4th, 2016 - 19 comments

Reports of an unconvincing “domestic terrorism” plot, and of further illegal GCSB spying.

Standing Rock update

Written By: - Date published: 3:27 pm, November 3rd, 2016 - 21 comments

The Standing Rock water protection movement continues in the face of increasing state violence.

Post-truth post-ethics

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, November 3rd, 2016 - 90 comments

The McCully / Sheepgate thing is just the latest in a long line of “morally flexible” Nat fiascos. In a world where truth or ethical standards mattered this government would have ended long ago.

David Cunliffe announces his retirement from politics

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, November 1st, 2016 - 335 comments

David Cunliffe has announced that he will not be standing for Parliament at the next election.

Sunday Poetry

Written By: - Date published: 7:37 am, October 30th, 2016 - 16 comments

Slam, Tourettes and Sam, Le Guin as a man.

Rigged

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, October 29th, 2016 - 97 comments

Maybe Donald Trump’s claims that the election results are going to be rigged deserve more consideration.

Tax-cuts or… Education

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, October 28th, 2016 - 6 comments

National’s dangling tax cuts, but there are far more important things to be spending public money on.  Today: Education.

ISIS Crisis

Written By: - Date published: 5:10 pm, October 27th, 2016 - 84 comments

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says our training mission to Iraq is undergoing a transformation. We were warned when the troops first went that the mission was always intended to be looser than Brownlee publicly claimed at the time. And so it has turned out to be.

Fabian Event – 5th Labour Government – 30 October Auckland 1pm

Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, October 27th, 2016 - 4 comments

All are warmly invited to hear Sir Michael Cullen, Hon Margaret Wilson, Hon David Parker, Mike Williams, and Dot Kettle reflect on the experiences of Helen Clark-led three-term Labour government – its achievements and its legacy and discuss its lessons for the future. Sunday 30 October 1pm-5pm Owen Glenn Centre, Auckland University, Grafton Road. Please register here.

Police launch moral crusade against old people

Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, October 27th, 2016 - 65 comments

Police subjected a group of elderly people attending a meeting on assisted dying to random breath tests so that they could collect the identities of each person who attended.

US Election Discussion Post 27/10/16

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, October 27th, 2016 - 54 comments

Today’s post for all random comments and links on the US election.

Meth and housing

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, October 27th, 2016 - 29 comments

Why has Housing NZ ignored repeated advice and misused meth tests to evict tenants? RNZ: “Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said Housing New Zealand had caused a huge amount of harm by knowingly misusing the guidelines.”

Blogs and Activism

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, October 26th, 2016 - 63 comments

What contribution can a blog make to activism?

Tory MP resigns on point of principle

Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, October 26th, 2016 - 25 comments

No, not in NZ, of course. With bonus notes on a “grotesque folly”.

Take a lesson from the All Blacks

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, October 22nd, 2016 - 21 comments

The Japanese proved decades ago that shared ownership – involving workers in management – is a highly successful and productive model. Seems that it works for the All Blacks too.

Tax-cuts or… Housing

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, October 21st, 2016 - 21 comments

The government is proud of their surplus, which at 0.7% of GDP isn’t quite as dramatic as the 9% of GDP deficit they had in 2011.  But as soon as we have a surplus, National starts salivating over tax cuts.  But may I continue on where I left off on other things that are far […]

Darren Watson 2 John Key 0

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 21st, 2016 - 140 comments

The Court of Appeal has ruled that Darren Watson’s Planet Key song should not have been banned during the 2014 election campaign.

Clinton vs Trump: Debate 3

Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, October 20th, 2016 - 191 comments

We’re almost there, folks! The third and final presidential debate kicks off this arvo. Will Trump turn it around? Will Hillary bother turning up? Will Fox News beome a legitimate news outlet now that they’re allowed to run a debate? All will be revealed at 2 PM this arvo.

DHBs telling porkies about junior doctors’ strike

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, October 19th, 2016 - 44 comments

Junior doctors are speaking out against the misinformation being spread by DHBs.

Heck Yeah! Hekia Parata to Leave Parliament

Written By: - Date published: 12:07 pm, October 19th, 2016 - 80 comments

Hekia Parata is to leave Parliament next year. The bad news is that she is probably going to stay on as education minister till then.

Fifth Labour Govt – Challenges and Lessons

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 pm, October 18th, 2016 - 7 comments

Michael Cullen and Margaret Wilson will speak at the Fabian Society Seminar “5th Labour Government – Lessons from a time of Challenges” at Owen Glenn Centre, Auckland University, Grafton Road on Sunday October 30 from 1-5pm. Mike Williams, Dot Kettle and David Parker will be on the panel. Everyone welcome to discuss and debate. Guaranteed to be interesting – details inside.

One Billion Dollars

Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, October 18th, 2016 - 6 comments

Treasury papers just released show National’s Housing Infrastructure Fund to be everything you expected it to be: a quickly cobbled together headline.

Tax-cuts or… Health

Written By: - Date published: 8:16 am, October 18th, 2016 - 135 comments

Health – particularly mental health – is underfunded, resulting in strikes over patient safety and units shutdown due to staff shortages. And unnecessary deaths. So why is the government even thinking about tax-cuts when our services need investment?

The Age of the Bitch.

Written By: - Date published: 3:03 pm, October 17th, 2016 - 113 comments

– time for misogynists to feel our anger.

unCOOL

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, October 17th, 2016 - 6 comments

In August Hekia Parata announced her new COOL solution, that distinctly isn’t what it says on the tin.

Now’s your chance to submit your feedback on her proposal.

National’s HCNZ cash problem

Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, October 15th, 2016 - 13 comments

On Thursday National announced a really big budget cash surplus but it became apparent that Housing Corp has a really big cashflow problem.

There is no surplus

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 14th, 2016 - 125 comments

In Year Eight of this National government, the idea of a budget surplus is a joke. They’ve promised it for nearly a decade. They’ve fiddled the books. The truth is, there is no surplus.

RIP Helen Kelly

Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, October 14th, 2016 - 42 comments

Helen Kelly, NZ’s most prominent trade unionist, has died. A battler to the very end, Helen will be greatly missed.