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In the last seven days a triple-conjunction of political portents has publicly demonstrated just how bankrupt of imagination and policy this current government truly is. The lack of direction and paucity of creative ideas is breath-taking. A "caretaker-government" would be a polite euphemism in this…
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Forget about seabed and foreshore. Forget about rights to plants and animals. And for godssake forget about building consents for confiscated gang headquarters! It's about time some people got their priorities straight. New Zealand as a whole has to take a serious look at its…
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As r0b already mentioned yesterday, NIWA is now being sued by the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition (NZCSC), on the basis of their stunning research paper "Are We Feeling Warmer Yet? Stunning as in "how could anyone possibly be this dumb?". For what they did…
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OK, that's not the actual title of Peter Dunne's press release. The real title is: Income Sharing could benefit up to 310,000 families (Notice how 'income splitting' has been replaced with 'income sharing', sharing sounds so much nicer and more innocent, more innocent than 'tax…
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Trevor Mallard picked it over at Red Alert yesterday. And Audrey Young at The Herald is carrying the story this morning: Minister faces axe after new Act revolt Act minister Heather Roy is facing the axe from John Key's Administration today, after she is dumped…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Key said put up or shut up. The CTU and some gutsy workers are putting up. Will Key have the guts to answer them? RALLY 21 & 22 August Auckland * Wellington * Christchurch * Dunedin Auckland 1pm, Saturday 21st August QE2 Square (bottom of…
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Brian Edwards and Bill Ralston give contrasting accounts of Michael Laws' PR handling of his latest relationship issues. Edwards thinks Laws dealt with it well (and reduced the 'story' to a molehill), Ralston thinks Laws cocked-up by preempting any other media coverage and giving more away…
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What do you do when you find science inconvenient to your ideology? Why, you strike it down! Burn the heretics! Or in the modern equivalent, you set the lawyers on them, and try and have the facts declared illegal. What? Yes really - it's happening…
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Odd to see in the Sunday-Star Times that the Government is looking at introducing compulsory superannuation savings, probably by making Kiwisaver compulsory. After all, this is the same government that gutted Kiwisaver and the Cullen Fund just a year ago, saying that super-annuitants were plenty…
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A UK Court has banned the UK military from handing over prisoners to the Afghani government's National Directorate of Security because it tortures its prisoners. It seems our government does not have the same scruples as the UK courts. Wayne Mapp has confirmed that the…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Hopefully this article, in both The Press and The DomPost might start a debate about whether we want Corrections (Newspeak for Prisons) to be the largest government department. New Zealand has a ridiculously high prison rate, which is a common characteristic of unequal societies that…
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This is very much a one pass broad brush stroke and I've embedded a long video at the end of this post because the talk on the video, even although a certain amount of extrapolation is necessary, expresses basic matters better than I can in…
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The Herald is carrying this piece by Phil Goff - I'm sure Phil won't mind if we reproduce it here. If you have any constructive suggestions or comments for Phil, make them below. I'll collate them and email them to him on our behalf. --…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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One of the stories last week was how little Labour had been damaged by the Carter "affair". If anything, the opposite. "Labour's support up after tough month". "Labour make gains in polls". "Goff upbeat as polls show swell in support for Labour". Phil Goff spoke…
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I've just been listening to a 30 minute BBC radio programme [in-depth reporting! Allows both sides of a story to be properly explored! Save (and expand) Radio NZ!] on how Britain's reforming their sickness benefit - and turfing around 3/4 of people off it. For…
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The Government is set to announce income splitting. Effectively, it allows a taxpayer to assign part of their income for taxation purposes to their partner. If the partner is on a lower income, the transferred income will be taxed at a lower rate than it…
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I read my weekly email from our hardworking PM with interest as always. 'Key Notes' starts: BOOSTING THE ECONOMY : This week I announced my pilot business scholarship scheme. Under the $1 million scheme, people can apply for up to $110,000 to study at an…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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We've already seen criticism of the move by National to introduce private prisons (eg. NZ Herald editorial). Now the soon-to-depart prison boss, Barry Matthews has indicated that he too has his doubts. According to the DomPost: Yesterday, he said he was undecided about whether private…
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In Morning Report yesterday there was a clear question and statement on the difference between weather events and climate. This is a question that always seems to confuse our CCD's (climate change deniers and skeptics). So it is worth examining it a bit in the…
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So, it looks like we're heading back into recession. US growth forecasts for the next quarter have been slashed to barely the rate of population growth. Australian unemployment has risen (although not anywhere near as much as ours). New Zealand manufacturing dived back into contraction…
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Climate change, peak oil, resource exhaustion, and over-population are combing to cause a new food crisis. The human population runs on grass seeds - grains supply half the calories we consume directly and feed much of our live-stock. The prices of those are skyrocketing. There's…
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Well, John Key challenged the unions to "bring 'em on" "put up or shut up". So they're going to put up. Ooops! In the news last night (or video version): Unions begin 'name and shame' campaign A former pharmacy employee [Heather Smith] who said she…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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It seems Tony Ryall has been "secret shopping" around New Zealand's accident and emergency waiting rooms and Labour is concerned about the breech of protocol. Get real. The idea that a minister cares enough about his portfolio to take time out of his busy schedule…
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Idle speculation about possible contenders to be the Labour candidate in a by-election seems to be the most important issue of the day. The Herald lists four possibilities: Taima Fagaloa, Porirua City Councillor, Pacific Health Director and Capital & Coast District Health Board member. Porirua…