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What to do if you're a government with an ideological fixation on selling assets, which is hugely unpopular? The public will catch on if you put SOEs as full entities up for auction. So, you don't sell off the companies. Instead, you sell off the…
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Odd timing as everyone powers down for Christmas, but The Herald (emulating papers elsewhere) has published the Wikileaks cables relating to NZ. Brace yourselves for a lot of wallowing in ancient gossip, and spin as left and right sift through the entrails looking for something…
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The nutters in this case are the misnamed Climate 'Science' Coalition who appear to have no ability at science, but quite a good track record in convincing the feeble minded, like Rodney Hide. Of course that is probably just politics. Act appears to have a…
act climate change making shit up rodney hide science scoundrels the praiseworthy and the pitiful
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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It must be coming up to election year, because whenever I load Granny Herald there's some ludicrous attack on Labour or love-piece on Key. The Herald on Sunday has some Wikileaks cables and the ones they've chosen to pre-release supposedly shows Labour was willing to…
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Phil Twyford is selected as the new Labour candidate for Te Atatu from a strong field. Phil Twyford is a formidable campaigner, as I know from past experience. He is going to be exactly what is needed in the Te Atatu electorate organisation that has…
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Perhaps, like me, you have left your Christmas shopping to the last minute. Perhaps you are not quite ready to give up and take the easy way out (Kiwis want cash for Christmas). Fear not - help is at hand! Here's a roundup of some…
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Is free trade worth it? For the past few decades, since the NeoLiberal revolution, our government has aggressively pursued a policy of free trade. Since 2000 we have signed bilateral free trade agreements with Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, and China, and we…
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9XNfWNooz4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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John Armstrong: "Nonentities," groaned one long-time political hand when this year's unusually long casualty list - Chris Carter (going), Pansy Wong (gone), David Garrett (gone), Shane Jones (recovering) and Phil Heatley (recovered) - was mentioned during the press gallery's annual party on Wednesday night. It…
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Gerry Brownlee was warned his electricity reforms would increase power prices, not lower them as intended. He ignored the advice. Wholesale power prices have spiked from $50 to $300 per MWH. Exporters have cut production as a result. Residential prices are next. Brownlee's Electricity Authority's…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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It's a real worry to me how much we're dumbing down the news. I haven't been able to watch TV news in NZ for the last 10 years or more because it makes me want to strangle my own brain in self defence. In America…
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In 1989 the Berlin Wall collapsed. Instead of this ushering in a period of vigorous growth for the left, the energies of the visible left in Western Europe and elsewhere dissipated. Not for the left to celebrate with people who had newly freed themselves from…
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Three government investment decisions in the last couple of weeks have shown the deficiencies in the neoliberal way of doing things. SOE Solid Energy is preparing to wreck our environmental image and increase our carbon costs with lignite-to-liquids. Kiwirail saves itself some money by buying…
assets business Economy housing jobs public services sustainability tax workers' rights
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A headline on Newsroom at time of writing: Christmas Aid Shock - A week before Christmas, thousands of the world's poor receiving community development aid from Kiwi aid agencies are being told they will get no more money from the New Zealand Government. A small…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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It's a tough Christmas for far too many Kiwis. Poverty is up, wages are down. 350,000 Kiwis are jobless or underemployed. The job losses are still coming - 130 from sawmills hammered by the high dollar, 160 from the Te Aroha meatworks fire, 400 as…
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Jason Ede, Whaleoil's main source for smut in the National Research Unit, has done a clever little play on Phil Goff. Like 40-odd other MPs, Goff owns an investment property. That it's in Wellington doesn't matter. This isn't a Double Dipton rort. But Goff pledged…
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Isn't it great we've got that nice man John Key running the country? He can't sing, but he does entertain his fans so. Last year he sang Snoopy's Christmas for his fans, this year Santa Claus is Coming to Town. He sure does know what…
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You are invited to complete the New Zealand Political Blog Readers’ Survey for 2010. This survey is being conducted as a follow up to the 2008 survey which was conducted by Andrew Cushen as part of his Master of Arts in Political Studies from the…
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Nick C, in my Government Spending Ideology post, had an interesting comment about the right's perspective on such things. In it, he said: "[T]he reason that those on ‘the right’ generally call for lower government spending and lower taxes is that we believe we get…
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A very good close of year speech from Phil Goff in the House yesterday. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oodSV9QG6do I think this is the kind of thing we want to see more of next year. Phil's job is to crystalise the vague sense of dissatisfaction that most people feel…
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The front-runner for National is Jamie-Lee Ross, who is just 25 years old. He's currently a Supercity councillor and co-leader of CitRats. One of the main players in the (ongoing) smear campaign against Len Brown and a good mate of Whaleoil, there's no doubting Ross…
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David Farrar sees that the government is borrowing too much - $300 million each week. But National's tax cuts for the rich are obviously not to blame, no it's the bloated public service. He would like any party that wants to be government to declare…
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Tax cuts don't cause growth. I hate to say I told you so, but they don't. And slowly, some of the right wing commentators are starting to wake up. Here's Fran O'Sullivan: Prime Minister John Key yesterday displayed all the characteristics of a man deeply…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Wayne Mapp to retire "for personal and family reasons" at the 2011 election. Who's going to be flown in to replace him?
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How does large hunks of most of our coastal cities and thousands of acres of farmland being swallowed the sea sound? This neat graphic shows effects of sea level rises from climate change: 1m - roughly in line with official predictions; through 6m - collapse…
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Originally published here and sent to us by the author using contribute post. Annette Sykes recently delivered the annual Bruce Jesson Lecture concerning ‘The Politics of the Brown Table’. It was an illuminating speech and well worth a read as she sheds light on the…