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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, June 17th, 2016 - 104 comments
Or not. More National ideology burned to the ground by facts.
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.
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 …
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.
Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, June 16th, 2016 - 74 comments

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.
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?
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.”
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, June 10th, 2016 - 52 comments
* according to Nick Smith and Paula Bennett.
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.
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