An article on a Stuff web page, written by Laura Walters and published last night, shows some interesting contrasts. It's a report on the protest last night by the Auckland Action Against Poverty, outside the Young Nats ball. Some extracts, highlighting the socio-economic divisions in…
There has existed a major policy difference between Labour and the Greens on the one hand and National on the other hand about when Auckland's city rail link should be built. The Greens are solidly in support of it. Last election Labour pledged to cancel the…
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In a massive hall in West Auckland, a community stood up and said enough to synthetic cannabis. Organised by the Waitakere Community Law Service with the community, hundreds of people from all different sectors of the community met to discuss the problem and what they can…
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When the Election Day was announced, Young Labour accidentally posted a graphic on Facebook that had the wrong date on it. The Tory blogosphere were all over it. The Young Nats gloated on Twitter. Whaleoil said it showed Labour couldn’t do maths. KiwiBlog claimed Labour should be disqualified…
Annette Sykes will be a great voice in parliament for those Kiwis in most need. There are reports recently that Annette Sykes has been out door knocking in her Waiariki electorate, and has developed a very effective on the ground organisation: RNZ Hone Harawira on…
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So apparently National has won the election. At the moment, all the MSM political news is framed around Key being unbeatable, born to rule and how Labour, Cunliffe and the Left in general just don't have the 'right stuff' to make it. This fixation on…
David Farrar often bullshits on numbers as he usually does. Does he have what appears to be a maths block that makes him so wrong so often (like his old boss Bill English)? Or is it just that he obeys orders like the good National…
No Right Turn gets an expected response testing the Cabinet office and then goes on to test the Ombudsman. Last month, we learned that Judith Collins had taken time off a taxpayer-funded trip to China to endorse her husband's company - a company which had also donated…
John Key gave a pre budget speech yesterday with a number of startling claims about the economy. David Parker has done some quick fact checking and following are his conclusions. I wonder if the Media will now report on these discrepancies as some of them…
A diverse but supportive wide ranging network left-wingers can provide the energy and activism needed for the upcoming election campaign. Time to end the "neoliberal" tyranny! Income inequalities and social inequalities are interconnected. "Neoliberal" discourse attempts to sever this connection, making the focus on the…
Two days after the IPCC has warned of the dangers posed by climate change and this Government has announced proposals to open up much of New Zealand's territorial area for exploratory oil drilling. The timing shows either either stunning ineptitude or extreme belligerence. National yesterday reaffirmed…
A government is carrying out a crash-program of privatization without a mandate. It is desperate to sell, so it sets the price of the shares artificially low, and loses $1.5 billion in a single day. No, this isn't New Zealand (yet) - its the UK: The…
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This was previously published at scoop. When so-called iwi leaders condemn teachers for daring to highlight the massive failings of the New Zealand education system for Maori children in case the minister of Education might be embarrassed, then they show themselves up as a sad…
No Right Turn notes the typical response from politicians to the Fifth IPCC Assessment report. Perhaps that promoting legislation with a penalty of long prison terms for political negligence would help? It sounds like a good way for lazy politicians to retire. After all the…
The original of this post is here at Polity. Here's an excerpt from an Audrey Young piece in the Herald today yesterday, in which John Key talks about Labour's plan to increase eligibility for free Early Childhood Education: Mr Key cited Labour's promise to increase early…
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The original of this post is here. I spent last Saturday helping out with a cycling promotion in an Invercargill community market. The market occurs monthly and has been largely driven by a community minded, and recently elected city councillor, Rebecca Amundsen to revitalize a less affluent part…
I arrived at the TPPA protest march in Wellington the intent of making my voice heard. The protest started well – enlightening speakers, a funny MC and raucous chanting. However, when we got to parliament, the march was confronted by a waist-high green fence blocking…
I have been following this issue for a while. A couple of months ago I noted that back in February 2010 John Key said that he had a potential solution to solving the whaling crisis which he would discuss with Hillary Clinton and that he would take his…
The IPCC has released its latest report. There are all sorts of more eloquent ways to describe the issue in detail but basically the world's environment is stuffed if we do nothing and there will be extensive devastation unless the human race starts acting now.…
I have enjoyed some of Patrica Grace's novels. The first one I read was Potiki back in the 80s. A review: Plot Summary: A Maori community on the coast of New Zealand is threatened by a land developer who wants to purchase the community property,…
We can now put a dollar figure – a conservative, probably-underestimated figure – on the cost of domestic violence to New Zealand business. That’s due to a report commissed by the Public Service Association, released yesterday in conjunction with a Member’s Bill from Green MP…