The system fixing at The Standard is done for the moment. So for the next few hours I'm paying bills and finally doing a late vote for the Labour party. The anecdotal word is that there have been in the order of 6000 membership votes. But I…
If you have seen a few outages over the weekend in NZ, it is because with Lyn off in India running classes (BTW: thanks for the great response* :) ), I've been up at nights upgrading my old server to take The Standard and moving it off my development system.…
Hamilton City Council currently has plans to sell of its remaining pensioner housing stock. It already sold off a block of them in 2012. Of those sold, only 12 out of 53 units are available for seniors to rent at affordable rates. This is because…
A recent Guardian Article by Jason Wilson asks a very pertinent question. Why is the right in control of the English speaking Western world? In England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States (despite Obama's presidency) the right is in control. The repercussions are significant.…
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the…
A video from Labour leadership candidate Andrew Little. Transcript below. You know, working with the union, as a lawyer, and then as an advocate and as the secretary, you’re dealing with people and the things that they do that make their lives good. What you…
The Waitangi Tribunal has released a hugely important decision on the Treaty of Waitingi and the Government and others are already trying to downplay the significance of the decision. Of itself this is very significant. On the left there is a period of reading and understanding and…
[This is a photograph of a protest on Bondi Beach depicting the Australian Government's approach to climate change] Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVPYFsTlp4Y Scooby Doo jungle canyon rope bridges as a commentary on Thatcherite and Tory socioeconomic policy and Stewart Lee's existential despair. Also, (h/t Polity) - these Mr Men book reviews are superb: For indeed, Hargreaves himself seems to give up on Mr Small - in…
A couple of weeks ago we asked readers to suggest questions for written answers from the candidates. We chose / edited six questions, and sent them to the four campaigns. Previous posts cover answers from Grant Robertson and Andrew Little. David Parker's answers are below.…
This is a trend that has been happening for years. The security of a full time job is becoming more difficult to find. Employment contracts are being designed and drawn up so that workers are at the whim of their boss about how many hours…
National governments are terrible managers of the economy. Historically they have brought us lower growth and higher debt than Labour governments. The current lot are amongst the worst. Consider, for example, the mess the Nats are making of the housing market. Instead of addressing the…
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike…
You have to hand it to National. They will always bend the rules as far as possible for political advantage. Labour's Megan Woods has with the assistance of information gleaned from the FYI site raised questions about how accurate National's response to OIA requests has been. She…
A couple of weeks ago we asked readers to suggest questions for written answers from the candidates. We chose / edited six questions, and sent them to the four campaigns. Here's Andrew Little's answers. (1) Can you outline your strategy for winning the next election.…
A message sent out by Nanaia Mahuta last night to all Labour members. Teenaa Koe We finished the membership husting meetings in South Auckland last night and it is clear that we need to make necessary changes to become Government. Members have identified a number…
Yesterday China and America announced a landmark carbon deal: US and China strike deal on carbon cuts in push for global climate pact The United States and China have unveiled a secretly negotiated deal to reduce their greenhouse gas output, with China agreeing to cap…
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike…
Key is trying to frame flogging off much of the state housing asset as a move to "social housing". When he does so, he likes to use the Salvation Army as an example of a possible provider: State house could be sold to community housing…
This National Government is very predictable. When it senses a need to prop up flagging support it goes into one of two modes, either it bashes beneficiaries or it goes tough on crime. With either policy it will taunt Labour, and challenge the parliamentary party to…
Ladies and gentlemen - our PM: PM JOHN KEY LAUGHS AND CRACKS JOKE ABOUT KILLER PHILLIP JOHN SMITH'S ESCAPE TO SOUTH AMERICA Unsurprisingly: John Key's killer paedophile joke disgusts victims' family The family of the man escaped prisoner Phillip John Smith killed, and the boy…
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike…
When John Key takes to the media to over-hype the risks of ISIS terrorism to NZ, there is a cost: Devoy: Muslims are being racially abused Muslim leaders are reporting a spike in racial abuse and the Race Relations Commissioner is concerned. Dame Susan Devoy…
So New Zealand businesses are planning a fighting fund for advertising to tell us why the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement is a really good idea. And with a level of condescension that only big business is capable of ANZCO chair Graeme Harrison is telling us why…
The entirely predictable effects of privatising much of our electricity generation capacity are arriving thick and fast. Increased prices: Power price increases revealed - Labour Sharp rise in Wellington power prices Power prices to rise again Power price hike coming soon Cutting payments to those…
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike…
Reposted from Hot Topic. lprent: This post has been reposted without permission. However I suspect that we won't have issues with doing so... Thin Ice, the superb documentary about climate science and scientists filmed and produced by New Zealand and British climate scientists, has launched…
Many of us on the Standard, look back the the first Labour Government (1935-49) as the basis for locating core left wing values, and a political way forward for the left. In doing this we tend to focus on the policies and legislation that resulted…
A couple of weeks ago we asked readers to suggest questions for written answers from the candidates. We chose / edited six questions, and sent them to the four campaigns. The questions were: (1) Can you outline your strategy for winning the next election. (2)…