Explore the archive
Find articles and conversations by date, subject or search expression.
Searching: posts Sorted by: newest Results: 181–209 of 209
Post
A unemployment disaster is slowly unfolding in Christchurch. For now, the tide of job losses is being partially held back by wage subsidies supporting nearly 70,000 workers, but those will be phased out by June. Then, all hell will break loose. The Government has no…
Post
MartyG raises some very important points in his latest post here. Transport is Auckland’s biggest issue right now. The emerging Labour-Greens-NZF popular front absolutely have to pick up on this if they want to win in November. By dying in a ditch over roads with…
Post
Stuff is reporting that Christchurch residents who have been displaced from their homes will have to pay a minimum of $190 a week, two weeks bond, insurance and power if they want to get into one of the campervans set up as emergency housing. Never…
Post
One of the Nats' minor propaganda lines at the last election was drumming up hysteria about crime, particularly youth crime. John Key said they would "act now to defuse these unexploded human time-bombs, who are on the fast-track to Paremoremo". It was mostly just rhetoric,…
Post
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...
Post
Last year, the New Zealand Institute lambasted the Nats' 'aspiration' to catch Australia by 2025 with a report entitled 'A goal is not a strategy'. Did the Nats change? Of course not. Yesterday, their energy strategy was released. It offers some goals but is mute…
Post
Kiwis are voting with their feet, or rather their arses. Patronage of public transport is skyrocketing to the point of overcrowding while state highway use is falling among except for freight. You have to wonder why the government keeps building expensive highways that will be…
Post
Post
A UMR poll shows that 40% of Kiwis support paying an earthquake levy to help pay for the Christchurch rebuild. 22% prefer more borrowing, and 29% want spending cuts. Asked just whether they supported or opposed a levy - 57% supported it. Yet the Nats…
Post
Watching Simon Barnett mouthing some cliched pap in front of photogenic rubble in an ad the other night, I got to thinking about how the earthquake has been treated as a stage by celebrities and the government to advance their own agendas. The ad came…
Post
Back before the 2008 election John Key pretended to be interested in the "underclass" for a while. With news now that a starving boy was found eating cockroaches, and that impoverished elderly are eating catfood, the plight of the underclass is getting nothing but worse…
Post
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...
Post
It seems the stench of the decision to remove the right to a jury trial from those arrested in the 'Terror Raids' has even risen into the nostrils of usually conservative members of the intelligentsia. Not only did (judge) Winkelmann suppress her reasoning for her…
Post
Today's Herald carries a story by David Fisher about the poverty that is rapidly reappearing in New Zealand. Because it's the HoS the lead hook is a story of children living in such poverty and neglect they ate cockroaches but this is only the sharp…
Post
Judith Tizard won't take Labour's vacant seat in Parliament. It's the right thing to do. It's only a quirk that we should be looking back to a list written in 2008 to fill a seat for 6 months now. Tizard and the next four on…
Post
The economy, shall we say politely, is facing some difficulties. The global financial crisis (combined with a drought) sent us into recession; but we had zero net crown debt, so the government was ready for lean times, like the squirrel with nuts stored for winter.…
economy education privatisation public services same old national
Post
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...
Post
A new Horizon poll suggests that Pita Sharples' majority in Tamaki Makaurau has been slashed by 80% and he could be overtaken by Labour's Shane Jones. There's a bit of scuttlebutt that Willie Jackson might run for Hone's new Left/Maori Party (if it gets off…
Post
More Christchurch black humour (or maybe "brown" humour?)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6-knLM7MZA
Post
Truthout is one of my favourite sources of political commentary in America. Visit, read, donate, discuss! Here's a beautiful rant from one of the editors. The Truthout page is missing at time of writing, but the piece is reproduced in full here. As America leads,…
Post
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...
Post
Weekend social is for non political chat. What's on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can't we all just get along?
Post
"Workers lose in two-speed recovery" is the headline of an interesting article in today's Business Herald print edition, sourced from "The Economist." Living standards are declining in recovery because the share of income going to profits has far outstripped wages. Most people are not feeling…
Post
The CTU is launching a new campaign today as part of their ongoing Fairness At Work. Things Just Got Tougher is about the new employment laws that start today, April 1. You may have seen the newspaper adverts or heard the radio ads. Here are…
Post
In the last Budget, National cut the corporate tax rate to 28%, which costs $400 million a year and comes into effect today. It also cut $200 million a year from early childhood education and tertiary funding in the same Budget, while borrowing billions. When…
budget 2010 debt / deficit education public services science tax
Post
We have had some routing problems this morning with several networks used by our provider in San Diego. The problem have been ongoing with the network links appearing and disappearing from the perspective of NZ and aussie (there is less of a issue from overseas…
Post
I take polls with a healthy grain of salt. I take polls of "business confidence" with a whole salt shaker. None the less, this latest poll expresses concerns that seem to be well founded: NZ business confidence plummets New Zealand business confidence plummeted this month,…
Post
Today National has a terrible April Fools for workers around Aotearoa: - The 90 day fire-at-will law extends to all workplaces. The EPMU is putting in some good work to get this excluded from many workers' contracts, but the vulnerable will still be targeted by…
business employment minimum wage Unions wages workers' rights
Post
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...