NZPA: The Maori Party has withdrawn its support for a government bill after its bid to have Maori members on polytechnic councils failed. The Maori Party put up an amendment which would have ensured that councils had at least three Maori members. The Government didn't…
It's interesting to look at the trend behind the headline 11 point poll lead Len Brown has opened up over John Banks as reported in today's Herald. In April Brown was only rated as preferred mayor by 6% of Aucklanders verse 17% for Banks. A…
Colin Espiner: After making inroads in the latest TV3 poll, Goff has clearly taken fright after the reaction to his nationhood speech. How else to explain his perplexing decision not to comment on the announcement by Prime Minister John Key that the Maori tino rangatiratanga…
In a recent post my good friend and fellow concern troll DPF covered the Associated Press review of the leaked "climategate" materials. The review concluded that the science of global warming was genuine. But DPF had some concerns: "My worry is that there is now…
With huge infusions of EU cash and deregulation that brought in foreign companies looking to make a quick buck, Ireland's economy grew pretty quickly over the past 25 years. On the back of their new-found wealth, Irish governments implemented a neoliberal revolution - cutting taxes…
National claims it created 2,300 jobs with its stimulus spending. Of course, most of this supposed stimulus was smoke and mirrors - re-announcing existing spending - and 2,300 is bugger all when there are over quarter of a million Kiwis out of work. But I…
Reading the Dom Post's editorial pages over my morning coffee today, I had one of those moments when you suddenly remember how insufferably, shamelessly right-wing our print media can be. Top left is an editorial attacking the teacher unions and confirming the newspaper's support for…
I'm fine with a flag representing Maori flying on Waitangi Day. Some argue there are constitutional concerns with flying a flag representing Maori self-determination next to the New Zealand flag. They say it implies (as Pita Sharples seems to believe) two separate sovereign powers in…
According to myth (it seems), Lenin called socialists in the West 'useful idiots' - people whose ideological fervour saw them accidentally aid the realpolitik aims of the USSR. Similarly, an army of useful idiots are the greenhouse polluters' best weapon as they attempt to save…
I could hardly believe my ears when I heard Waatea News on RNZ this morning. Pita Sharples admitted that the Maori Party knew supporting National's ETS would mean worse environmental outcomes and would cost the country $110 billion in subsidies for polluters but they did…
In a year when New Zealand factory farming practices for pigs (and earlier for chickens) have been widely exposed and shocked the country, our dairy industry is looking at adopting similar practices for dairy cows. In a year when climate change has been on the…
Colin Espiner has a piece in the Dom Post today attributing Labour's four point rise in the polls to Goff's 'Nationhood' speech. He goes on, in what can't help but be interpreted as a wee dig at The Standard: after 30 years in politics, it's…
"Govt stimulus creates 2300 jobs" reads the headline! It's a bit misleading though. A more accurate headline would have been - "Labour Govt stimulus creates 2300 jobs". How's that, I hear you cry? Follow the money: The Government estimates its economic stimulus package has created…
This is the first in a three part series on the climate change denial industry. I'm trying to understand why there is such a powerful, well-funded, and ideologically solid body of opposition to a body of scientific evidence that even the scientists employed by one…