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Bludgin’ ain’t so easy
So, I'm out of work. I was employed on a contract and when it came up for renewal the boss told me business is too tight, have to let me go. It wasn't their fault and they were pretty good about it. For the first…
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Bill Ralston on police spying
Bill Ralston usually gets stirred by posters at The Standard for what he says. I've generally liked him after seeing him give some politicians a degree of ribbing at the annual foreign policy conference in Dunedin in the mid-80's. I really liked his most recent…
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It’s bad, what to do?
The latest Treasury economic forecasts are out and, in a continuing pattern, they not only make worse reading than the previous updates but they are already out of date. We are now looking at gross government debt rising from less to 20% to 30% or…
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The final cut
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Good one Bill
Bill English has stopped the sale of BlueScope's Taharoa ironsands business to a Chinese investor based on the fact that it won't bring any value to New Zealand. Good on him. If we aren't going to profit from investment then why should we allow it?…
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Gratitude
I haven't commented on the maiden speeches yet (we're doing some analysis later) but I can't let this stand. Aaron Gilmore, the bottom-ranked National List MP who got in by 39 votes, is having his maiden speech. He started by remembering growing up in a state…
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Somewhat suspicious
Gerry 'sexy coal' Brownlee has spent today ripping apart more anti-climate change laws. Today, under urgency and without the opportunity for the public to contribute via the select committee process, National/ACT has repealed the Biofuels requirement and is now in the process of repealing the…
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Merry Christmas from National
National's decides to hit workers in the pocket: ACC Minister Nick Smith yesterday said levies would increase from $1.40 to $1.70 for every $100 earned from next April. The employer and self-employed levy would rise from $1.26 to $1.31. Recommendations by officials to increase motor…
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Who else are they spying on?
Gordon Campbell raises a good question in his latest Scoop column - are the Police also using paid informants to spy on mosques? According to the original Sunday Star-Times article, the Police informant Rob Gilchrist was getting $600 a week for his information. This is…
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Time to reconsider Hobsonville
After initially saying they would cap the number of state houses, National/ACT's Housing Minister Phil Heatley actually got informed. Despite the good work that Labour did increasing the number of state houses and their quality, the problem has not been completely solved - there are…
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Impressions of the House
First question time - the teams square off. Let the games commence. So what was the vibe? Well both sides kept getting their language muddled up (Minister/ member etc) as they tried to remember that they had shuffled around in their roles. So what of…
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Enough already – no more tests please
When I went to my first parent/teacher interview I was amazed at the breadth of markers against which my daughter's performance was being evaluated. I admired the commitment of the teacher to such a level of engagement. I felt fully aware and informed of my…
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The limits to tolerance of the police
On discovering that her boyfriend had been spying on her and her friends for the police, and the consequent violations of her expectation of privacy, my niece Rochelle had quite enough tolerance of the police. That is sufficient cause to get seriously annoyed, and it…
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Be pragmatic
A fundamental of social democratic politics is full employment. It is sometimes said that work is the best form of welfare. When people are in work they have a sense of belonging and self-worth, they commit fewer crimes, they contribute to funding public services, they…
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Garth McVicar – racist
Here's a quiz. Can you name the one killing that has seen Sensible Sentencing's barking mad Garth McVicar support the killer and argue, in direct contrast to his normal practice, that the sentence ought to have been more lenient? And can you point to the unusual…
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He’s a fan
Just in: Coldplay to play at Vector Arena on March 18th. No word yet on whether John Key has managed to get tickets.
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Howard – some advice on what questions to ask
Yesterday, Howard Broad made statements about the targets of the SIG (Special Investigation Group) to National Radio. Interview with Howard Broad on his actions. I've seen some of the e-mails when Rochelle Rees discovered them. From them and his statements, I get the impression that…
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A bad start, don’t expect improvement
We've seen a plethora of commentators criticising the National/ACT's performance thus far. Colin James sums it up well: Key's past week was mixed at best, notably in the House where his take on mandate reeks of FPP arrogance. His tap-dancing on climate change risks serious…
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No ReStart for Fire at Will even if unfair
So much for all National's fine words about probation periods and job creation. Today's Dominion reports that ReStart will not be available for "those who were sacked, including those who lost their jobs under the new 90-day probation law." So the conditions for three months…
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Shameful
And so the Maori Party's sell-out of its own people continues. Hot on the heels of the party's vote to take money out of the pockets of the poor to pay for tax cuts for the rich, this morning's Dominion Post reports: Green Party MP…
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Estonians to vote by mobile phone
Last Thursday, while our new government was making it easier for businesses to fire employees, politicans in Estonia were making it easier for people to vote. In Estonia's 2011 parliamentary election people will be able to vote via mobile phone. The system apparently "requires that…
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From clean and green to grey and grubby
Tourism New Zealand has recently launched its dedicated YouTube channel - Have Your Say - where tourists can post video messages about their experiences while visiting here via a mobile studio. Here's what our new PM, Minister of Tourism, and veteran YouTube user John Key had to say.…
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Making a mockery
Shock news as Key's media trainer praises Key Bill Ralston thinks Key is doing just super, which is perhaps to be expected since Key employs Ralston's company for media training. He also thinks this whole 'democracy' thing is a bit of a pain in the…
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US ‘shoes-for-guns’ program in Iraq backfires
[The shoe-thrower is a journo from a Baghdad newspaper taking his opportunity to make his feelings known during Bush's surprise farewell visit to Iraq. In Arab culture, the sole of the shoe, being dirty, is insulting.]
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Rod Oram: The global crisis is real
As usual an insightful analysis from Rod Oram on the need for our political and business sector leaders to better come to grips with what the international economic situation means domestically. He says: Every sector of this economy has its own set of structural challenges…
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Cui bono?
I'm no lover of the car industry but it's interesting to see why the effort to put together a bailout for US carmakers has failed. Seems the Repubicans couldn't face the horror of a 14 billion dollar payout, which is chump change compared to the…
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Police Special Investigations – A fundamental lack of humanity
Aside from all the democratic, political and moral issues raised by the Police's behaviour, there is a fundamental lack of humanity in their actions. Yeah, perhaps the Police do have a role in preventing the graffiti of billboards (apparently they used their informant to try…
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No Right Turn: Police State
No Right Turn has written in his cogent style on the police spy issue. With the kind permission of No Right Turn, I've quoted it in full below. Because the police operate independently of the government at the operational level (as they should), the "mission"…
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Judith Collins – thoughtless idiot
Nothing is quite as important to a democracy as activist groups that engage in peaceful protest for change. In the past these are the groups that have worked for extending the franchise (including to woman), establishing the rights of workers in employer/employee relationships, the abolition…
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Sunday Star Times
My niece Rochelle Rees has uncovered some unsavory practices operated by element of the NZ Police directed at peaceful protest groups. You can read them either by buying the paper, or by these links to articles from Nicky Hager. Police anti-terror squad spies on protest…