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The Conservatives have made a complete cockup of their "bottom line" for making a deal with National about going into government. They want to make referendums legally binding on the government. It is something that no rational government in NZ would agree with because it…
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I keep walking into the "In Committee" sections of the conference. As a amateur "journalist", I'm really going to have to start working on that. Listening to a quite good speech by a 17 year old from Dunedin (must find out his name - Kobe?).…
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With Labour, there has been a particular topic on my mind for some time. How to get renewal inside the caucus. Over the last 6 years at The Standard we have had this horrible task of dealing with stupid "leaks" from unnamed sources in the party.…
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So David Cunliffe is now being criticized for having a short break with his family during the school holidays. David is somewhat unusual for a politician. He is happily married to Karen who he has been with for decades and has two sons. His family…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
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There's a must read post up on the Hand Mirror, acknowledging the passing of a woman who played a significant role in the NZ 2nd wave Women's Movement: Pat Rosier. I wasn't in NZ during the crucial period of the late 70s and the 80s,…
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At the Alexandra Park racecourse for the NZ First conference. Just listened to Paddy Gower in his interview with Winston Peters. The interesting bit was the questioning about Winston standing in East Coast Bays if Steven Joyce/John Key make a deal with the conservatives and…
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Reposted from Polity. The Guardian has a good account of recent British research into tax. According to survey research, most people believe that the rich pay a higher proportion of their income in tax than the poor. The British public collectively estimates the poor pay…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
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Reposted from No Right Turn. Over the weekend we learned that police had been juking the stats, recoding burglaries as "incidents" to make themselves and their Minister look good. But its all fine now, supposedly - the police claim they've instituted a series of spot audits to ensure it…
crime making shit up police spin you couldn't make this shit up
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#137675978 / gettyimages.com Above: a terrorist gets his comeuppance It seems that all sorts of crazy stuff is being written about the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s determination that police were justified in not prosecuting members of the GCSB over illegal spying. Come on guys, give the police…
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This is just too awful to let go without saying something. The power is all with the Israel government. They have superior weapons, wealth and superpower support, against, what is in effect, a captive population. Non-combatants live in this small area, trying to go about…
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There's lies, damn lies, and statistics. And then there's writing a beat-up story and providing none of the numbers needed to back it up at all. That's what Vernon Small's done today with his breathless call on David Cunliffe. The numbers show more people would…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
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The election campaign is gearing up. Volunteers are starting to join parties efforts, out on the ground at the flax roots. In the midst of my day today, a heart warming sight: Carmel Sepuloni and a team of red shirted supporters, a strong and visible…
activism election 2014 equality greens internet mana party jobs labour poverty sustainability unemployment workers' rights
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The most damning thing about the SIS email exchange regarding Kim Dotcom's residency application is the hour and half between the digital discussion and the unusual decision to drop their veto. There are lots of things that can fill an hour and a half; a…
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The IPCA report into the illegal spying of Kim Dotcom by the GCSB has been released. The headline is that the IPCA has upheld the decision of the Police not to prosecute the GCSB for the illegal gathering of information from Kim Dotcom. The conclusion was perhaps…
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I’m intrigued by Kim Dotcom’s announcement of earth-shattering revelations to be made on 15 September – just 5 days out from the last voting day of this general election. Many people have expressed their doubts – though Laila Harre does have a point when she…
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Reposted from No Right Turn Last year, the Ministry for the Environment reported that 61% of New Zealand's rivers were unsafe for swimming. National's response? Shut down the monitoring program: The Government pulled the plug on cleaning up our dirty rivers so they are safe…
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Reposted from Polity The Roy Morgan and Fairfax/Ipsos polls out overnight are both bad news for the cause of positive change in New Zealand. Labour is below 25% in both polls, which is disaster territory if is solidifies. And even the broadest possible left-bloc (Labour,…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
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Russel Norman has announced a policy that indeed does look to be "smart, green" with a focus on innovation. It does look like moving NZ towards a "Green New Deal", in a way that works with the current system. I does involve partnerships with business in…
business capitalism election 2014 equality greens russel norman sustainability tax workers' rights
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Reposted from No Right Turn. The latest NSALeak: a look inside GCHQ's bag of dirty tricks: The UK intelligence agency GCHQ has developed sophisticated tools to manipulate online polls, spam targets with SMS messages, track people by impersonating spammers and monitor social media postings, according…
democracy under attack democratic participation internet Politics Spying uk politics
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Reposted from Polity. There was a fascinating review of new research into minimum wages in The Age last week, written by the Sydney Morning Herald’s business editor: When the Fair Work Commission announced a 3 per cent increase in the national minimum wage to more…
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Over at the NBR Standard lurker and occasional commentator Matthew Hooton has provided a perceptive view into the workings of the Government and the handling of the Dotcom fiasco with a headline "Nats in crisis over Dotcom SIS file". The article is behind the paywall. In…
john key national national/act government same old national you couldn't make this shit up
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike ...
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The FBI had been working with the New Zealand authorities for a year before he was arrested. They wanted to arrest him on his birthday "because it would be a big party and all the assets would be there."A Department of Justice official revealed this…
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It looks like I'll be able to head to the New Zealand First conference at Alexandra Park racecourse on the weekend as media. In this election the position of NZ First party members is probably going to be crucial for any coalition that forms. Colin…
act colin craig conservative party election funding mana-party maori party MMP national nz first peter dunne Politics same old national united future winston peters
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"Difficult cases make bad law" is an old saying I first heard in Law School. The essence is that a case with difficult facts may cause the decision maker to prefer to side with the party who invokes sympathy, rather than the party who may have…
blogs climate change democracy under attack disaster global warming you couldn't make this shit up
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Reposted from No Right Turn. The National government's policy for economic growth has been simple: pump up dairy production, export more low-value milk powder, and keep low-value farmers as the "backbone of the economy". To achieve this, they've dismantled democracy in Canterbury, pillaged rivers, thrown…
democracy under attack election 2014 Environment farming greens national Politics same old national sustainability water