The Standard

Social issues

Categories under Social issues

The good ones get it

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, June 28th, 2016 - 126 comments

A recent interview with Barack Obama displayed an understanding of the problems offered by globalisation but also understands the complex relationship between trade, elites, workers, and redistribution.

Snakes and ladders

Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, June 25th, 2016 - 155 comments

Yesterday was a big day for both UK and US politics. Brexit revealed the political consequences of social inequality. Meanwhile in America the Trump Train is derailing.

Brexit: Cameron Resigns

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 pm, June 24th, 2016 - 225 comments

Top Tory David Cameron has resigned in the wake of the Brexit vote. The buffoon Boris Johnson is tipped to take over at No 10 Downing St.

Four personal stories

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, June 23rd, 2016 - 38 comments

From the “Brighter Future”, four personal stories published recently are all well worth reading.

Panama papers: investors were advised how to avoid Government disclosure obligations

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, June 23rd, 2016 - 70 comments

Doubt has been cast on the utility of John Key’s claim that New Zealand is not a tax haven because there are disclosure treaties with the revelation that Mossack Fonseca’s primary New Zealand agent instructed clients to avoid investing in those countries.

Guest Post: How to preserve workers’ entitlements to past holiday pay

Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, June 22nd, 2016 - 9 comments

Eva Hartshorn-Sanders on the background to the Holiday Leave Protection Bill, why it is important for the Bill to be passed into law and what you can do to support it.

Pay up Compass

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, June 21st, 2016 - 39 comments

Not only has Compass being serving below quality food to hospital patients but it appears that they may not have paid some long term employees what they are entitled to.

Mission Creep

Written By: - Date published: 7:06 pm, June 20th, 2016 - 50 comments

The military mission to Iraq is to be extended by another 18 months, much to nobody’s surprise. John Key has put the creep into the mission.

Another day at Te Puea Marae

Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, June 20th, 2016 - 7 comments

An update on Te Puea Marae, a homeless teen cancer sufferer, and how to help.

Guest post: Corie Haddock on the homeless crisis

Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, June 18th, 2016 - 52 comments

Co chair of the New Zealand Coalition to end homelessness Corie Haddock writes about the causes and implications of New Zealand’s homelessness crisis.

Petition against the veto of the paid parental leave bill

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, June 18th, 2016 - 19 comments

“We request that you withdraw the financial veto certificate against the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave and Work Contact Hours) Amendment Bill.” You can sign the petition here.

Kiaora Matariki Puaka

Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, June 17th, 2016 - 27 comments

It’s been a hard week, and many of us could do with some kindness and good news. Let’s take a moment to remember Matariki. What would Standardistas and other politically progressive people like to see for the coming year?

Fire at will (90 days) law a great success!

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, June 17th, 2016 - 104 comments

Or not. More National ideology burned to the ground by facts.

Good morning to the “Park up for homes” folks

Written By: - Date published: 6:38 am, June 17th, 2016 - 18 comments

A very sincere good morning to the “Park up for homes” folks who have just spent the night in their cars, protesting in support of the homeless.

Open mike 17/06/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 17th, 2016 - 51 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 overrule Parliament to veto parental leave extension

Written By: - Date published: 3:54 pm, June 16th, 2016 - 102 comments

So – like Canterbury, like Auckland, the democratic process can get stuffed as far as National are concerned.

Key on the Teina Pora compensation

Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, June 16th, 2016 - 74 comments

Teina-Pora

Housing policy omnishambles rolls on

Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, June 16th, 2016 - 64 comments

The government that will pay you $5000 to leave Auckland and $3000 to move to Auckland has been selling state houses so recklessly that it is now considering building temporary ones. Headless chickens make more sense.

Double the quota

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, June 16th, 2016 - 3 comments

The Nats’ quota increase has now been described as “shameful and inhumane”, “stinks of a Government that doesn’t care”, “pathetic”, “mean-spirited and callous”, and more. Will they get the message?

Dodgy Niue deal back in the headlines

Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, June 16th, 2016 - 107 comments

As Bryan Gould put it – “In any other country, and especially in those where such deals are commonplace, no one would be in any doubt as to what had really happened. In New Zealand, however, we are naively inclined to accept the blank-eyed, slack-mouthed assurances that it was all a coincidence and that nothing untoward had happened.”

National is missing Cameron Slater

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, June 15th, 2016 - 33 comments

The ham fisted attack on Hurimoana Dennis by Paula Bennett’s office must make National yearn for the heady days when Cameron Slater was in charge of their smears.

Orlando; Owen Jones On Homophobia.

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 pm, June 14th, 2016 - 70 comments

Guardian journalist Owen Jones nails the failure of many to call the Orlando killings what they are; homophobic  terrorism. It’s not an excuse for anti-muslim hysteria, as Trump, Seymour and Peters would have it, it’s the worst single attack on LGBT people since the holocaust.

Refugee quota increase “shameful and inhumane”

Written By: - Date published: 3:12 pm, June 13th, 2016 - 23 comments

Reaction to Key’s pathetic increase in the refugee quota – “shameful and inhumane” (Amnesty International), “stinks of a Government that doesn’t care” (Double the Quota).

The ghost house epidemic and the invisible hand

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, June 13th, 2016 - 54 comments

Last year there were officially 22,000 unoccupied properties in Auckland. This year 33,000 are officially classified as empty. “Auckland’s 6.6 per cent vacancy rate is higher than either Sydney (5.2 per cent) or Melbourne (4.8 per cent), where there has been an uproar over “ghost houses” deliberately left empty by speculators trading on a soaring market”. This is madness.

Florida – 50 dead in attack on LGBT club

Written By: - Date published: 6:19 am, June 13th, 2016 - 204 comments

Coverage and image from The Guardian.

Update: Links to Obama speech and Trump claiming credit.

Essential reading – Hickey on immigration

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, June 12th, 2016 - 133 comments

Hickey: “Helping employers to bring in low-skilled migrants instead of investing in new technology and becoming more productive so they can pay local workers more is essentially stunting our productivity and real GDP per capita.”

Fiji flop

Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, June 12th, 2016 - 26 comments

key-fiji-domestic-animal

Police undermined by their own minister

Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, June 11th, 2016 - 100 comments

Good piece by Jo Moir on Stuff this morning, about National’s train-wreck week. Follow it up with Andrew Geddis on the legality of the Collins blurt.

Where is Paula?

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, June 11th, 2016 - 120 comments

In the middle of a housing crisis the Minister of Social Housing Paula Bennett is nowhere to be seen.

There is no housing crisis in New Zealand *

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, June 10th, 2016 - 52 comments

* according to Nick Smith and Paula Bennett.

Banks act on housing affordability crisis (while National sits on its hands)

Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, June 10th, 2016 - 144 comments

Despite Key’s barnstorming 2007 speech on the housing affordability crisis, National these days prefer to deny that it exists. Apparently fed up with waiting for the government to take action, banks are moving to reduce their risk and limit foreign buyers.