Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, November 7th, 2013 - 140 comments
The police yet again apologise for the continuing support for rape culture within their ranks. As a result, young (alleged) rape victims have been re-traumatised. The Bazley Report recommendations should have prevented this from happening. From Key, Collins & Tolley we have been hearing the low-key sound of feet dragging.
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 am, November 7th, 2013 - 23 comments
Parliament’s Chief Nanny has been in full flight this week, trying to slap down questions from Jan Logie and Andrew Little about trial processes for sexual abuse cases. Nanny was very strict. Everyone else had got it wrong, and needed to be corrected. When Nanny got it wrong herself, as she did when answering Andrew Little, she backed off quickly. When he challenged “so you don’t want to change anything”, she found the mild heckling “abusive”, which certainly does raise the bar, at least for herself.
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, November 7th, 2013 - 15 comments
Len Brown will today propose to Council that it funds a living wage for all Council and CCO employees. It is intended that this is funded through savings, particularly with high level wages, and efficiencies and will be brought in over three years if supported by the Council.
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, November 4th, 2013 - 69 comments
David Cunliffe has announced further proposals regarding Housing with a Christchurch flavour. The temporary use of red zone houses that are otherwise habitable, the proposed construction of 10,000 houses over four years and the recreation of New Brighton into a vibrant and modern beachside community are amongst the announcements.
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, November 4th, 2013 - 11 comments
Ad reports on the 2013 Labour Conference and why the left should take heart for the next election.
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, November 3rd, 2013 - 22 comments
David Cunliffe’s speech is now on youtube. Enjoy …
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, November 3rd, 2013 - 87 comments
David Cunliffe announced yesterday Labour’s intention when it becomes Government to set up Kiwiassure, a NZ Post Insurance Company that will go in direct competition with the Australian owned insurance companies that dominate the local market. And today there is talk about an announcement on affordable housing.
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, November 3rd, 2013 - 81 comments
Yesterday David Cunliffe told a Tale of Two New Zealands. Today 2 NZ Herald articles show where NZ has gone wrong with its fractured and increasingly unequal society: our ailing state supported TVNZ; a high-living property-buying elite. Will Cunliffe talk about state housing today?
Written By: - Date published: 2:57 pm, November 2nd, 2013 - 142 comments
David Cunliffe’s speech notes for his speech to today’s Labour Party Conference
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, November 2nd, 2013 - 91 comments
John Armstrong’s column in this morning’s Herald is an interesting collection of ideas. Apparently David Cunliffe is too left yet too wishy-washy, a remit that was voted down is offered as evidence that the party is “lurching” to the left, and the party is too boring. And he decries the lack of new material before David Cunliffe has given his keynote speech. Don’t you think you should wait for the speech first John?
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, November 1st, 2013 - 48 comments
The resignation announcements of National MPs are coming thick and fast. It shows that National knows that it’s going to have fewer MPs are the next election. If it doesn’t want all its seats clogged with MPs that are going nowhere, they need to retire at the election. For the Left, it’s good confirmation that National knows its losing. It’s smart politics from National, though, and something Labour could emulate.
Written By: - Date published: 7:54 am, November 1st, 2013 - 109 comments
A Guest Post by Ad. He poses the question, is Labour willing to enter into a smart MMP relationship with the Green Party or is it still stuck in FPP culture?
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, November 1st, 2013 - 114 comments
Fairfax has decided to go a bit mental on Labour and Cunliffe. An endless stream of stories trying to tweak Cunliffe’s nose over every little thing. Part of this is covering the embarrassment of their own rogue poll. More importantly, it’s a test that all new leaders get. The wave of hypercritical stories don’t mean much in themselves, how Cunliffe’s Labour responds does.
Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, October 31st, 2013 - 14 comments
Clare Trevett details in today’s Herald how Key has taken to bringing Ministers with good news to his Monday news conferences “to lambast the media with good news about the progress being made in a certain area.” Sources tell me that the good news goes well beyond the Monday presser. Ministerial staff run a filter across all portfolio announcements: if it’s good news, the Minister gets to make the announcement. If its not such good news, the job goes to the Departmental head.
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, October 31st, 2013 - 86 comments
Why is Treasury providing the government with advice on spinning and disguising widespread changes to Education? In this way, NZ’s democracy is undermined, and changes are continually made that benefit the few and make life more difficult for the many. Government MO or renegade Treasury?
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, October 30th, 2013 - 27 comments
Rebekah Brooks, once Rupert Murdoch’s favourite editor, is in the dock in London charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Rupert then turned his attention to his former home, Australia, again focussing the weight of his tabloids on Labor, first Gillard then Rudd. With a few exceptions, when it comes to politics it is the proprietors or the boardrooms that make the decisions, not the editors.
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, October 30th, 2013 - 26 comments
Fairfax suffered the double indignity of first having its poll contradicted by One News’ hours later and then Key himself mocking the idea that National is on 50%. Still rogue polls happen. That’s statistics. We can look through the variation in single polls by comparing the 6 After David polls to their 6 Before Cunliffe predecessors to see if there really has been a Cunliffe bounce.
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, October 30th, 2013 - 18 comments
BLip is well known on this site for his ever-growing linked lists of the lies of John Key. But it appears he has been branching out into the role of reporter in this hilarious account of the swearing of the Auckland council last night that was picked out of Open Mike.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 29th, 2013 - 51 comments
A charity is taking on the funding of the essential work on monitoring poverty, in the face of Paula Bennett, Bill English and John Key et al failing to do their job: a return to Dickensian & Edwardian times.
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, October 28th, 2013 - 23 comments
Latest revelations about the NSA’s international surveillance show it is about “full spectrum dominance” of military, economic, business and political activities. The TICS Bill is the latest part of Key’s changes to NZ’s surveillance agencies, further enabling the US government dominance via NSA, especially in business & politics.
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, October 27th, 2013 - 59 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…
Written By: - Date published: 3:37 pm, October 26th, 2013 - 50 comments
David Jones QC argues Banks could not have signed a false declaration of election donations because he did not read it. But Banks’ campaign manager’s evidence was that Banks “glanced at it before signing it.” The Oxford dictionary defines “glance” as “take a quick or hurried look;” “read quickly or cursorily.” So Banks did read the donations return. It would have been hard to miss the $15,690 recorded as both a radio expense and an anonymous donation which he had personally solicited.
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, October 26th, 2013 - 102 comments
John Armstrong, Tracy Watkins, and Fran O’Sullivan all write today about National’s plunging polls and the growing likelihood that this will be the first two-term National government. They take different approaches – Armstrong: there’s nothing for Key to worry about, Watkins: there was a problem but the tide’s turning back, O’Sullivan: yeah, Key’s fucked.
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, October 25th, 2013 - 60 comments
Granny supported little Johnny’s plan to go off to market and sell the family’s cash cow. But even she’s furious that what he’s come back with amounts to nothing more than a hill of beans. As Granny Herald notes, the Nats’ determination to push ahead with the remaining sales regardless is all about ideology, and the knowledge that they’re going to lose the next election.
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 37 comments
Kennedy Graham’s post on NZ’s appalling record on climate change: ‘Atlas shrugs off climate change – a New Zealand policy failure of monumental proportions‘, includes a great quote about Key shrugging in the face of his (and “neoliberalism”) failures. So apt.
Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 49 comments
At least one MP if not the whole of National’s caucus knew that the news concerning Len Brown and Bevan Chuang would break soon eight days before it did. Slater’s and Palino’s claims are becoming more and more difficult to believe. And in a comment yesterday Bad12 sums up why this is such bad news for National.
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 93 comments
Is the Prime Minister John Key who claims to know what Labour has supposedly said in secret talks with SkyCity (talks that Cunliffe denies have happened) because it’s ‘all over town’ the same Prime Minister John Key who couldn’t be bothered to read a police report on one of his ministers who is now going to be tried for the offences investigated in said report? Asking for a friend.
Written By: - Date published: 6:24 pm, October 22nd, 2013 - 22 comments
Cunliffe talked of moving from a “from a cost-based to a values-based” strategy. We need a new narrative: valuing all, including children of those on benefits; about long term benefits for all of less inequality & poverty, and more affordable housing & better public transport, & more.
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 pm, October 21st, 2013 - 61 comments
Winston Peters’ KiwiFund proposal would nationalise KiwiSaver. Russel Norman supports it, but in competition with private schemes. Cunliffe is open to negotiation. Key is dismissive, but says Peters is so untrustworthy he is likely to back down & form an alliance with National anyway.
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, October 20th, 2013 - 40 comments
National led the combined Labour+Green vote for 76 successive Roy Morgan polls. But how times have changed. The Left’s led 10 of the last 14 polls, and all the last five. With solid vision, policies, and a credible candidate for PM, the Left finally has the goods to win. Watch for the cracks to appear in the Nats as they position for a post-Key future.
Written By: - Date published: 6:40 am, October 20th, 2013 - 94 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…
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