Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, September 11th, 2015 - 21 comments
As anticipated, what is the first complaint at this site under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015? Not from a kid cyber-bullied by the classmates. But by an adult trying to stifle legitimate criticism and analysis of what they wrote and distributed digitally. And they didn’t read what they were required to do under the act.
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, September 10th, 2015 - 123 comments
Any new flag for NZ should have been a unifying symbol. Instead Key has turned the referendum into a divisive process. Faced with four crap flag choices we’ll probably vote for no change and the whole stupid $26m process will have been a complete waste of time and money. Ludicrous.
Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, September 9th, 2015 - 12 comments
As the photo claims, refugees are human beings. We can tell this from general expressions of resignation, desperation and misery.
But what about our own expressions of humanity?
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, September 9th, 2015 - 82 comments
At a time where the need for social housing has possibly never been greater the Housing Corporation is to pay the Government a dividend of $118 million, the third largest in the Corporation’s history.
Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, September 8th, 2015 - 106 comments
NZ’s first book banning in over 20 years. Another own goal from “Family First”.
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, September 8th, 2015 - 48 comments

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, September 7th, 2015 - 10 comments
Andrew Geddis on Key’s bravado when it comes to sending other people to fight in a war, and his prevarication when it comes to helping war’s victims.
Written By: - Date published: 4:02 pm, September 6th, 2015 - 90 comments
I wonder if the current public outpouring of sympathy for Syrian refugees is nought but a ‘fashion’, or whether it’s the beginnings of a renaissance for internationalism.
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, September 5th, 2015 - 82 comments
In both England and New Zealand conservative Prime Ministers are looking to urgently backtrack from recent refusals to do anything further for refugees.
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, September 5th, 2015 - 296 comments
I’m no fan of the flag process. I think its a waste of money and a distraction from the real issues. I don’t think there has been any public sign of engagement or interest to be worth commenting on. Until now. Red peak for the compromise win?
Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, September 4th, 2015 - 15 comments
The Nats have created the (spurious) data for school “league tables” so that parents can be fully informed and make choices, so they tell us. But it seems that parents don’t deserve to be fully informed about the dangerous physical health of schools. That would be just too inconvenient.
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, September 3rd, 2015 - 111 comments
National MP Maurice Williamson was reported to have been so offensive in a recent presentation at SkyCity that attendees walked out of an awards dinner.
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, September 2nd, 2015 - 172 comments
A climate change induced drought from 2006 to 2009 appears to have sparked the instability that has caused the Syrian Civil war. The mass exodus of citizens that we are witnessing may be the first of many climate change induced events.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, September 1st, 2015 - 23 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.
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, September 1st, 2015 - 92 comments
Today the government announced the four candidates for John Key’s vanity flag referendum: three ferns (one of them the logo of Immigration NZ and the Companies Office) and a koru. And really, all I can say is “meh”. So how about defining a good way of doing a informal or invalid vote on this stupid first referendum on selecting John Key’s underwear..
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, August 31st, 2015 - 133 comments
FYI. The most populous town in Clutha District is Balclutha, which lies 81km south of Dunedin by road. Balclutha’s population, by the 2006 census, was 4,062 (down from 4,137 in 1996). Other towns are Milton (pop. 1,887), Kaitangata (pop. 810), Tapanui (pop. 744), Lawrence (pop. 432), Owaka (pop. 327), Stirling (pop. 309), Clinton (pop. 291), Kaka Point (pop. 201), and Benhar (pop. 96). For a while in the 1980s Balclutha was New Zealand’s most wealthy town, per capita
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, August 31st, 2015 - 224 comments
All Black fan boy John Key opened up Parliament to allow the New Zealand Rugby Union announce this year’s world cup All Black squad on the weekend.
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 pm, August 28th, 2015 - 107 comments
When European and NATO countries participate in destabilising and destroying nearby countries, the human tragedy doesn’t stay neatly confined to the other side of the border.
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, August 26th, 2015 - 55 comments
John Key says New Zealand has options in the face of a share market meltdown and is not like Greece (well that’s a relief). Simon Louisson asks how real are John Key’s options? Thanks to this Government’s profligate past spending, including irresponsible tax cuts, our options have narrowed drastically.
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, August 26th, 2015 - 32 comments
Shane Reti lied about the process of ratifying the TPP. In a Press Release to the Northern Advocate, Reti states “. . . the agreement comes before parliament and opposition parties and select committees for debate and modifications . . .”
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, August 25th, 2015 - 31 comments
… up to 45% of current jobs will cease to exist.
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, August 25th, 2015 - 9 comments
The report of the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service highlights a shameful chapter in NZ history. What possible reason could there be for the government not to apologise directly to the victims?
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, August 24th, 2015 - 10 comments
New allegations that at least one Serco prison guard was active involved in Mt Eden’s “fight club”. In some ways the public mess that Serco has made of Mt Eden has done us all a favour
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 pm, August 22nd, 2015 - 93 comments
In a post on Public Address titled “In defence of the centre” Rob Salmond uses a Guardian article by George Monbiot to pose the question “whether the old political orthodoxy of ‘move to the middle’ is, long term, a death-knell for left-leaning parties.” It’s good that Salmond’s raised the question; it’s certainly a matter for debate.
Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, August 22nd, 2015 - 20 comments
Today’s Herald has an excellent piece on charter schools – School cash flows to owners’ pockets. What a surprise!
Written By: - Date published: 2:53 pm, August 21st, 2015 - 4 comments
If you thought the Nats promising to sort out zero hours contracts was too good to be true — you were right.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, August 20th, 2015 - 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.
Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, August 20th, 2015 - 46 comments
While beneficiary numbers decrease the incidence of beneficiaries being trespassed and the numbers of pregnant women living homeless is increasing. Are we really seeing things improve or are more and more people falling through the cracks?
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, August 19th, 2015 - 21 comments
National’s selloff of our state houses is yet another example of its two main obsessions, secrecy and unaccountable power.
Written By: - Date published: 6:39 pm, August 18th, 2015 - 94 comments
Most of the allegations against Assange have been dropped but Swedish authorities still refuse to question him in London. And Assange still hasn’t been charged with a single crime.
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