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Social issues

Categories under Social issues

Housing crisis

Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, April 19th, 2016 - 57 comments

Housing is very much in the news again. Short term profit and bugger the consequences!

McCully, the National Party donation and the Niue resort

Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, April 18th, 2016 - 57 comments

Murray McCully has assured New Zealand that there is no link between the granting of valuable rights to manage a luxury resort in Niue and the making of large donations to the National Party.

Climate change – that ship has sailed

Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, April 18th, 2016 - 57 comments

Our models and our plans for responding to climate change are already out of date.

The solar surcharge

Written By: - Date published: 2:39 pm, April 15th, 2016 - 98 comments

Profit gouging or genuine need?

Trickledown has failed

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, April 15th, 2016 - 120 comments

Two recent articles in the Guardian highlight the staggering amount of money being sent to overseas tax havens by the wealthy and how with the disappearance of work a universal basic income will become a necessity.

Twyford on solutions to the housing crisis in Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, April 15th, 2016 - 41 comments

As Nick Smith flounders about uselessly, here are extracts from Phil Twyford’s speech on solutions to the housing crisis in Auckland.

Another Nick Smith fail in Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 2:53 pm, April 13th, 2016 - 9 comments

How’s Nick Smith doing on the Budget plan to round up 500ha of Auckland land for housing? The answer won’t shock you!

The Divide (Spirit Level – The Movie)

Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, April 13th, 2016 - 5 comments

Based on the breakthrough book The Spirit Level, just released film The Divide puts a human face on low wage hell. “Why aren’t we earning enough to live?”

Can we trust John Key?

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, April 13th, 2016 - 334 comments

John Key’s relationship with Antipodes Trust Group Limited will need some explaining.

Daily Review 11/04/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, April 11th, 2016 - 11 comments

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 …

Caption Competition

Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, April 11th, 2016 - 72 comments

‘ Keep it seemly . . .  

Clayton Cosgrove to Leave Parliament

Written By: - Date published: 1:28 pm, April 10th, 2016 - 150 comments

Labour List MP Clayton Cosgrove has announced he is to leave Parliament.

Simplicity

Written By: - Date published: 11:57 am, April 9th, 2016 - 62 comments

Good shit happening in France.

Brownlee is dragging Canterbury down

Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, April 8th, 2016 - 85 comments

The Christchurch rebuild gets its second fail grade from Treasury. And what of the rebuild work that has been done with failed reinforcing steel?

Panama tax rort stirs world leaders but not Key

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 7th, 2016 - 18 comments

The Panama Papers highlight a significant problem for the countries of the world.  The actions of the 1% is robbing countries throughout the world of funds needed to run their countries and underlines that the capitalist system is based on greed.  Most leaders see this but not John Key.

Obama calls for international tax reform – what will Key do now?

Written By: - Date published: 6:31 am, April 7th, 2016 - 122 comments

Key has made it clear that he doesn’t care that NZ is operating as an international tax haven. When The Greens called for action he called them “barking mad”. But last night President Obama called for international action on tax reform. What will Key do now?

Nicky Hager opens new case against police

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, April 6th, 2016 - 31 comments

It sounds like the Police have a lot of questions to answer.

Go Helen!

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, April 5th, 2016 - 65 comments

Great news that Helen Clark is putting her name forward for the very important post of Secretary-General of the United Nations. She has been a courageous champion for peace – perhaps the most important priority for the world today.

John Key’s response to the Panama Papers leak

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, April 5th, 2016 - 42 comments

John Key and National are floundering and trying urgently to work out what lines they should use concerning the release of the Panama Papers.

Deborah Russell: What’s going on with foreign trusts?

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 5th, 2016 - 66 comments

Deborah Russell provides expert analysis and commentary on the treatment of foreign trusts in New Zealand and how there is actually a loophole.

2800 state houses “transferred”

Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, April 1st, 2016 - 40 comments

Yesterday 2800 state houses in Auckland were “transferred” to a new authority, which plans to “reduce the number of people the State is supporting”.

Time for progress on drug law

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, March 31st, 2016 - 82 comments

Welcome signs of new realism on drugs. Sadly, it’s the sort of progress only a right-wing government can propose.

The sock puppets, the media and the UBI

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, March 31st, 2016 - 117 comments

Labour’s discussion of a possible UBI is still generating debate.

Postcard from the “brighter” future

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, March 30th, 2016 - 31 comments

Evidence of growing poverty hitting “mid-decile” schools.

Guy Standing: Rentier Capitalism and the Precariat – Christchurch 30 March

Written By: - Date published: 3:43 pm, March 29th, 2016 - 8 comments

Guy Standing will speak on this subject in Christchurch on Wednesday evening at 6pm at the Fern Room, the Atrium, 455 Hagley Avenue. More detail here from his presentation in Denmark. Please register here if you would like to attend.

A quick question (again)

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, March 29th, 2016 - 231 comments

“More than 2400 benefits suspended since 2013”. I have a quick question…

Easter Monday Round Up

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, March 28th, 2016 - 101 comments

Three news items stand out from the long weekend. Actor Robert De Niro being inoculated against anti-vaxxers, ISIS being driven out of Palmyra and the free part of Ireland celebrating the centenary of the Easter Rising. All are milestones of sorts, markers of positive change.

Aussies may be bastards, but they believe in themselves.

Written By: - Date published: 1:41 pm, March 26th, 2016 - 31 comments

Here in Ballarat, Victoria we are having a mini-boom in manufacturing. Yes you read that right. We’re having trouble retaining good people because of the demand. Yes you read that right. This is because Ballarat has actively invested in providing core capacities like: We were lucky to get an early NBN rollout in FTTP. Some […]

What the flag vote means

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, March 25th, 2016 - 105 comments

Here are some reckons, for what they’re worth.

Meet the new flag…

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 pm, March 24th, 2016 - 238 comments

… same as the old flag.

Key didn’t take the country with him.

Now let’s get back to the real issues.

Nat MP runs over TPP protester’s foot

Written By: - Date published: 4:04 pm, March 24th, 2016 - 82 comments

Nat MP Chester Borrows has injured a TPP protester with his car. Not the first time this sort of thing has happened.