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The Dominion Post has this column on Fridays called the Diary [offline*]. It's written by some anonymous staffer and is supposed to be a witty and irreverent take on minor happenings over the last week. We're clearly getting under someone's skin there, because this week…
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A link in the comments led me to ballon juice You Have To Be Shitting Me. It refers to a article at boston.com Now-needy FDIC collected little in premiums WASHINGTON - The federal agency that insures bank deposits, which is asking for emergency powers to…
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Question 1. Which of these are 'front-line' staff and which are 'back office'? a) the extra staff members for National and Maori Party MPs that the government has just found money for? b) the fines collections officers the Ministry of Justice is firing because the…
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We've heard a lot of panicky comments in the last few weeks about a 'cost blowout' at ACC. We're told there is $22 billion in liabilities with $12 billion unfunded. That sounds bad, but what does it actually mean and what's really happened? ACC used…
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Good to see Emerson's back in form.
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The Service and Food Workers Union has launched an online email campaign to urge Sealord Chairman Robin Hapi to reconsider axing 180 workers in Nelson. The other 400 have have been threatened with pay cuts or else they'll face the sack as well. And this…
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Last week, Jon Stewart poked fun at the media who cheer-led the housing and stockmarket bubbles and are now blaming the people who took on subprime mortgages for the financial crisis. They bit back with hilarious results. Jon is interviewing Cramer today, it will screen…
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The wheels are starting to come off National's PR campaign to undermine ACC as more and more people notice the gap between their spin and the reality. This morning's Dom Post has an interesting article [offline*] where the managing director of actuaries Eriksen & Associates…
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Morning Report asked Paula Bennett why the public sector had been cut out of the 9 day fortnight scheme this morning and her answer was that it was for businesses that have been hit by the effects of the recession and the public service doesn't…
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The 9 day fortnight scheme has finally been announced but I've got a few questions: Why do the taxpayer and the worker have to pay but the employer not? What about free training? Surely that would fit with the productivity argument National's been making? Does…
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I'm always amazed at the intellectual hoops the neoliberal right will jump through to try and deny low income workers minimum wage increases. David Farrar has a piece up today highlighting the case of Honduras, where they've apparently raised the minimum wage by 60% in…
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The sensationalist tone of media releases regarding the financial situation at ACC has ignored the causes behind this so called ‘blow out'. The investment losses have been a big part of it but there is also a rising accident rate stemming from our ageing population and climbing obesity…
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Yesterday Tane did an excellent post speculating on links between the Sensible Sentencing Trust and GEO Group. GEO Group derived from the notorious Wackenhut Corrections and it now wants to run privately run and publically funded prisons in NZ. In the US, the GEO Group…
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In his blog today Colin Espiner points out how National has quickly moved a lot further to the right than they portrayed themselves as pre-election: After following the script for the First 100 Days to the letter, National is now branching out into things that,…
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The opening night of the Pasifika festival at Western Springs in Auckland will be proceeding. After a funding shortfall the Auckland City Council cancelled the traditional Pasifika opening night. But the Pacific Islands Board Auckland City (PIBAC) and the Pacific community rallied together and last…
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There is one job area where it's no expense spared for the taxpayer - public relations in the Beehive. Michelle Boag tells the story here. Michelle has now joined the PR firm Momentum, where Jenny Shipley is a director. There'll be enough moolah in that…
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Just received this from the Wellington Drinking Liberalites: Just a last minute reminder, tomorrow is the third Drinking Liberally of 2009, featuring the new Green MP, Kevin Hague. Kevin was formerly the Chief Executive of the West Coast District Health Board and has served as…
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Brian Rudman has a good piece this morning on the Earl of Auckland's backwards-looking decision to reinstate a "ridiculous regime of titles dating back to feudal times". The best quote's from Sister Pauline (herself a Distinguished Companion of the NZ Order of Merit): I can't believe…
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This is good. Here's what ACC's ads might look like once National's had its way with it: [Hat tip: Clarke in the comments]
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Interesting to see that the new ACC board chairman, John Judge, is an alumnus/affiliate member of the Business Roundtable. That's the same Business Roundtable that has consistently said that: "the introduction of a state monopoly, no-fault accident compensation scheme in New Zealand had been a…
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ACT MP David Garrett is quickly becoming a sick joke. Asked today about the fact more prisoners will be assaulted or raped by their cellmates if the Government brings in double-bunking, he replied: "The fact is if you don't want to be assaulted - or…
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Just a reminder that Drinking Liberally is on in Auckland again after a hiatus of 5 months. It is just the thing to warm you up now that the Fiji weather has departed. REMINDER: Drinking Liberally is on 7pm tomorrow (Wednesday) night. Speaker is Rod…
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Protecting workers' rights, protecting ACC, safeguarding jobs, public services, and SOEs, opposing privatisation. These are all important fights. But it's a crime we're having to fight them at all. While we are concerned with such things, the enviro/economic challenges to the sustainability of our society…
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Sources tell us that National/ACT government (Nactgov) has ordered more words to be removed from official documents. We already knew they had banned social justice, public health, social change, organised efforts of society, advocacy, and inequality. Now, we have more to add to the list.…
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The National/ACT Government's axe has fallen on the Environment Ministry today, with staff being flown to Wellington to discover a raft of environmental programmes introduced by the last government will be scrapped. With them will go at least 18 jobs, making a mockery of the…
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The Ecologist Film Unit's second release documents how espionage, news manipulation, legal threats and even violence have become the knee-jerk response of Government and big business to the increasingly vocal concerns of environmental protesters in the UK. Ahead of next month's Climate Camp at Kingsnorth…
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One of the features of a privatised prison system is the potential for corruption of the political process by the commercial interests of private prison operators. Thanks to Tom in the comments it's come to light that GEO Group, the company formerly known as Wackenhut…
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So, ‘Crusher' Collins has failed in her high profile campaign to have Barry Matthews sacked. How embarrassing, what with her staking her entire political reputation on it and all. I doubt John Key will be particularly happy about being dragged into this whole sorry affair…