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National Ltd™’s Sam Lotu-Iiga tries to pull the wool over our eyes

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, December 4th, 2015 - 12 comments

It was suggested in Parliament that SERCO’s first place position on the Prison Performance Table had been the result of  Lotu-Iiga and his department having had the wool pulled over their eyes.

The great future tide of homelessness

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, December 3rd, 2015 - 156 comments

The Salvation Army, and not the Government, has pointed out some very worrying trends relating to home ownership in New Zealand.

Mopping up the fossil fuels subsidy shame

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, December 3rd, 2015 - 17 comments

McClay said he could not answer the specific question because he had “been advised” no such data exists.

How convenient.

Deportee

Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, December 2nd, 2015 - 103 comments

Standard Exclusive:

Te Reo Putake interviews one of the first batch of deportees from Australia under the Liberal Government’s hardline approach to Kiwis who serve jail time in the lucky country.

Our man in Paris

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, December 2nd, 2015 - 17 comments

Some time today, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, John Key, will be wandering around the hallways of his Paris hotel in his underpants. Or maybe his swimming togs.

The great greenhouse gas research funding switcherooni

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, December 2nd, 2015 - 19 comments

John Key has announced an increase in funding on research into the reduction of agricultural emissions of greenhouse gasses of $20 million over four years or $5 million a year.  Which is the amount the Government cut from this research two months ago.

Police raiding journalists is a thing now

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, December 2nd, 2015 - 132 comments

Yesterday the police raided the home of a 3 News journalist. This seems to be quite a trend in the Brighter Future.

Chris Cairns: Song of the Tall Poppy

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, December 1st, 2015 - 111 comments

The Chris Cairns trial verdict seems to have surprised Kiwis. And some people don’t seem to want to accept he is not a match fixer. Are we that fooled by modern media that our usual decency and sense of fair play has deserted us?

Coleman to regulate high sugar industry

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, December 1st, 2015 - 32 comments

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said there is a voluntary regime in place for the manufacture and sale of high sugar food but where there is is self regulation it is often ignored.

Because of the danger high sugar foods potentially pose it’s important to have a regulatory body and licensing/education regime to ensure manufacturers and retailers only provide food that has healthy outcomes.

New Zealand shamed at Paris

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, December 1st, 2015 - 67 comments

New Zealand provides over $80m in production subsidies for fossil fuel industries.

My Labour Party Caucus and Rankings

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, December 1st, 2015 - 61 comments

I’ve just finished reading all the comments on the reshuffle thread. It gave me an idea. Post here YOUR rankings of the top 20 Labour Party  MPs, the role you would give them and WHY. So that is 3 criteria for posting   Rank the top 20 of current Labour Party MPs; and The Role […]

House arrest for Paris activists

Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, November 29th, 2015 - 21 comments

Why are the so called leaders meeting at COP21 so afraid of public demonstrations? Let the people have their say…

Jarrod Gilbert 1 – Windmills 0

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, November 29th, 2015 - 22 comments

About time the Police got around to becoming a “very evidence based” service. Building great relationships with academia is a sensible way to start.

International law and the Turkish shootdown of the RuAF Su-24

Written By: - Date published: 8:49 pm, November 27th, 2015 - 117 comments

Assuming the Russian jet did enter Turkish airspace for 17s, was there really no recourse for  Turkey other than using lethal force?

NRT: Compare and contrast

Written By: - Date published: 2:16 pm, November 27th, 2015 - 2 comments

I/S at No Right Turn compares the government’s treatment of two very different schools. “National’s racism and pandering to the rich pervades every aspect of policy.”

Jarrod Gilbert is tilting at windmills

Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, November 27th, 2015 - 38 comments

The Official Information Act is now moribund and access to information beyond its scope is granted only to a chosen few and under strict conditions.

How many prospective state house tenants hate birds chirping?

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, November 26th, 2015 - 46 comments

The answer is at least one.

Police censoring research

Written By: - Date published: 1:17 pm, November 25th, 2015 - 25 comments

Police censorship of research is causing widespread outrage today. Well done to Dr Gilbert and The Herald for bringing it all to light.

Dope-growing, cross-dressing BDSM male prostitute police officer convicted of harassment

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, November 25th, 2015 - 91 comments

A recent surge in the level of systemic criminality, thuggery, and general incompetence which now defines the New Zealand Police Force.

Housing NZ refers homeless to CAB for emergency housing

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, November 24th, 2015 - 28 comments

If this was not so tragic it would be absurd.  Radio New Zealand has reported this morning that CABs are receiving referrals from Housing New Zealand of people requiring emergency housing.

Stuff report on child abuse

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, November 21st, 2015 - 123 comments

Not exactly light or cheerful Saturday morning reading – but we should all read it anyway. Stuff’s (Katie Kenny & Blair Ensor) excellent special investigation on child abuse in NZ.

Flag distraction – first referendum

Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, November 21st, 2015 - 135 comments

The delivery of the ballots in the first first flag referendum is getting a bit of attention from bored journalists. We the people don’t seem to care much though.

Please don’t go there America

Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, November 20th, 2015 - 27 comments

Donald Trump won’t rule out “tracking Muslim Americans in a database or giving them “a special form of identification that noted their religion””. Brings to mind an F word.

The comical farce of Cameron Slater et al

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, November 20th, 2015 - 43 comments

Cameron Slater and his associates are legal morans. This has been extensively investigated and judged on by the Court of Appeal in a judgement released yesterday. I have a wee look at it and the steaming heap of faecal matter that these idiots tried to get the judges to consume.

Hikoi for Homes.

Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, November 20th, 2015 - 12 comments

Saturday in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Chris Trotter is on fire

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, November 19th, 2015 - 160 comments

“What differentiates the Left from the Right is the former’s fundamental rejection of the strongest human-beings’ proclivity to dominate, coerce and exploit the weakest. Without this proclivity, none of the economic and social systems elaborated by armed minorities throughout history could have endured.”

Indeed.

His name was Jonah Lomu

Written By: - Date published: 4:10 pm, November 18th, 2015 - 26 comments

Ad provides some thoughts on the death of Jonah Lomu.

Homeless children

Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, November 18th, 2015 - 75 comments

RNZ covered a Salvation Army report on housing this morning. These figures are a national disgrace.

That would explain a lot

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, November 18th, 2015 - 27 comments

key Czech

Something Smells, Honest John

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, November 18th, 2015 - 53 comments

Seems Ms Adams is the latest prepared to jump under a bus to save the beloved Honest John. Self interest is strong in this one.

Slack on our craven human rights record

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, November 15th, 2015 - 24 comments

David Slack is on fire this morning with his take on our craven human rights record – in the form of imagined NCEA questions.