Social issues

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New Zealand is doing nothing about climate change

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 178 comments

The latest report on New Zealand’s performance under the Kyoto Protocol is out and the news is disturbing.  Net emissions compared to  our 1990 CO2 equivalent emissions are predicted to treble by 2030 at a time where they should be trending to below the 1990 level.  And Government policies are shown to be making little difference.  Meanwhile a report by Prof Euan Mason advocates that Agriculture should be in the scheme and that with a proper price for ETS credits significant reforestation with attendant benefits could occur.  And meanwhile RWNJs continue to show their belligerent lack of understanding of the science of climate change …

GCSB: They do listen

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 36 comments

It has been a surprise at just how far the revelations about the GCSB governance have made into the collective conciousness of NZ. Bearing in mind the continuing outpouring from Snowden and other whistleblowers about the US and their allies surveillance efforts on citizens and friendly states, it isn’t going to be a surprise if this winds up being an issue in the election.

Caption contest

Written By: karol
Date published: - 110 comments

Celebrity golf!  Which one will get voted off the island first!?  Meanwhile the world burns, the poor struggle, and the wealth gap continues to be a blight on our country.

It’s 2014 and we have a job to do

Written By: QoT
Date published: - 252 comments

In 2014 the New Zealand Left must have more on its agenda than “win power”.  We should want to create a better New Zealand, and doing that is about so much more than economic policy (which is also, obviously, important).  It has to touch everything.  And it’s going to take people working in different areas on different parts of the plan to make it all happen.

Right Thinking: just another lawbreaking socialist villain

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 8 comments

Normally we’d put “ImperatorFish: ” because, well, the post come from that site and from the fertile satirical mind of Scott Yorke. But in this case it is clear that someone else must have written the post. They couldn’t get the sequence of events right and they admitted to an act that a lawyer (such a fine upstanding and moral part of community) would never admit to. Has Scott has been hacked? And why does it sound like actual Cameron Slater writing on one of his better days.

Poverty denial

Written By: karol
Date published: - 230 comments

Here & in the UK: food poverty, increases in queues to foodbanks, in diseases of poverty, a crisis in affordable housing, & struggles & insecurites of the working poor. But poverty denialists blame the poor, smear beneficiaries, & talk of (always-around-the-corner) “brighter futures”.

Wet Dick and the Perverts (reprise)

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 15 comments

If we look at the google impressions and click throughs onto our site, someone could probably write a sociological paper on exactly how many hidden perverts there are that the right wingers in the council are reflecting. I have to say that that I am quite pleased that we had poor click through for the “bevan chaung naked/nude” queries.

John Key’s patchwork ‘job machine’: user pays

Written By: karol
Date published: - 47 comments

John Key’s great idea for job creation – his cycleway project – has produced some benefits, but is a patchwork production.  Some sections will be user pays to fund maintenance.  Meanwhile the job creation benefits have been limited.

Wet Dick and the Perverts

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 136 comments

It should be the name of a group from a bizarro version of the 1960’s. But no, it is what passes for the governance of the Auckland City Council these days. There is our mayor with his wet dick. Then we have the five perverts who are busy emoting faux outrage whilst quietly forgetting that we elected them to help run a city. Dick Quax, Cameron Brewer, and the handful of other perverts in council can play with that aspect of their lives on their own time.

Shop til we all drop

Written By: karol
Date published: - 90 comments

The cult of the super rich, cheer led by the uncritical echo chamber in the MSM. Those struggling in poverty receive a few crumbs of charity, promoting superficial “good will” by those indulging in the orgy of consumerist excess. Underlying causes & solutions are ignored.

David Cunliffe’s first hundred days

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 159 comments

David Cunliffe has now been Labour leader for 100 days.  This marks a good time for reflection on what has happened and how well he has done.  And a chance to have a look into the future and predict what may happen in the next 12 months.

Reef piranha

Written By: Mike Smith
Date published: - 42 comments

Today’s Herald editorial gets one thing right – a media pack has turned on Len Brown. But it’s not gutsy journalism – it comes straight out of the Rupert Murdoch playbook. Len’s latest sin is his upgrades – EY says  they total  $32,000 for 64 occasions. That’s $500 an upgrade, which seems  a lot on top of what Len paid. The report does not detail how this total was arrived at, and I cannot find any example of any journalist asking questions about it.

Wally of the Year

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 12 comments

The Fairfax Political Team has released their annual list of prizes for some of the most and least deserving efforts in politics this year.  There was intense competition for Wally of the Year and somehow they did not think that John Banks deserved this award.  But I am not so sure …

First the Hone bash, then the royals

Written By: karol
Date published: - 116 comments

It’s looking like Team John Key is trying every PR spin trick in the book to gain an advantage for the election next year.  Does he have anything to offer Kiwis other than bash, spin and photos ops? And McGehan Close?  The underclass?

Ernst and Young should investigate Cameron Brewer

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 240 comments

Cameron Brewer apparently forgot to file a declaration of interests in 2012 which should have included details of a four day junket to the Gold Coast paid for by Mediaworks.  Dick Quax forgot to file returns in 2011 and 2012.  Is an investigation required?

A Tale of Two Cities

Written By: Mike Smith
Date published: - 91 comments

It was the best of times in Wellington today. Council workers will get a living wage, and parking wardens will become council employees so they will get decent pay also. It was the worst of times in Auckland as the right-wing Scrooges having failed to remove Mayor Len Brown took it out on their workers by overturning his call for a living wage for Council staff.

The spirit of ’81: Key’s hypocrisy!

Written By: karol
Date published: - 141 comments

John Key’s attacks on Hone Harawira for his trip to South Africa were hypocritical: an attempt to smear a significant political opponent, and divert from the governments failings & its gradual falling out of favour with many (potential) voters.

Showdown at Auckland Council

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 264 comments

Today’s Council meeting will no doubt develop a great deal of heat but little light.  And then hopefully everyone can settle down and working on the real job which is to create Auckland into a great city.

NRT: Who’s scaremongering now?

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 193 comments

On their usual friday bad news dump (such a large amount of it these days), the National government dropped this clanger. Greenpeace was right and John Key is a moron when it comes to geology and evidently about risk assessment. We held it over to get past the National’s Monday morning bad news clutter.

Muppets.

Written By: Bill
Date published: - 100 comments

It never fails to amaze me that supposedly experienced and professional (ie, paid) political figures routinely reaffirm a fairly deep sense of stupidity.

NRT: Unacceptable

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 187 comments

No Right Turn has a view on Len Brown accepting nearly $40,000 in undeclared complementarities from the hotel industry. How many of these were from SkyCity? And who else has been getting them?

The Pike River deal of the century

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 57 comments

A month ago John Key was embarrassed in the House by David Cunliffe over the failure of the Government to contribute to the compensation of $3.41 million ordered by Judge Farrish to be paid to the Pike River families.  Yesterday’s deal saw this amount being paid and the charges against Peter Whittall being withdrawn.  An embarrassing political issue was shut down by a decision not to continue with a prosecution.  Are you concerned?

John Key: The invisible man

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 47 comments

Fresh from his comedy career on Letterman, his rolling over puppy imitation for Warner Brothers, and other such high profile appearances. John Key has now taken to reprising the role of “The Man with No Name”. Milly the kitten is better known..

Smile and Wave

Written By: Bunji
Date published: - 54 comments

Confronted with a protest about the government’s lack of action on child poverty, John Key’s response is: “So yeah, they just protest because […]

The new right wing party

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 172 comments

With ACT’s imminent demise, the Conservatives appearing to be decided flakey and National losing its free market credentials by engaging in crony capitalism the temptation to set up a new political party on the right is increasing.  And you can be assured that money will not be a problem.

Open mike 10/12/2013

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 138 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

Hypocrisy-watch

Written By: Zetetic
Date published: - 85 comments

After today’s platitudes, it’s worth remembering where Key stood on apartheid when it mattered.

Prosecuting Cunliffe

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 56 comments

No Right Turn writes on what should happen with David Cunliffe screwing up on election day. Sensible advice and commentary on what looks like a typical example of some of the innumerable silly mistakes and accidents that happen during election campaigns. The reaction of some on the right has been pretty damn hilarious when they compare what looks like deliberate concealment of electoral finance with a silly tweeting mistake

Why New Zealand’s educational standards are crashing

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 55 comments

National’s carefully constructed Educational Policies, designed to give the impression of action but based on the transfer of riches to the children of the wealthy and the bashing of Teachers Unions, are in tatters following the release of the Pisa Report.  Cuts made to Teachers Professional Standards in 2009 made against advice are obviously having an effect.  And increasing child poverty must be having an effect, despite the Government’s refusal to even measure it.