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Open mike 17/03/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Search · 2012-01-01 to 2012-12-31 · Page 62
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Better ideas from Finland
David Shearer used Finland as an example of successful small country economic development. The main focus in a very good speech yesterday was on education. Finland has a lot to offer on education as well - few tests and excellent teachers. This article by Dianne…
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Weekend social 16/03/2012
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?
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Key’s speech explained
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Nats back down from ACC privatisation why not asset sales?
National has backed down from privatising ACC's work account. To make it work, they were going to have to pump up ACC levies and make it pay a dividend to the Crown to make prices high enough for the private sector to compete. It's a…
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National standards aren’t
National standards have been imposed on schools against expert advice, against international experience, and against considerable opposition. The government can bully schools into the appearance of compliance. But they can't make a flawed and unworkable scheme workable. They can't stop the perverse and damaging incentives…
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Key’s reshuffle bad news for working Kiwis
The reshuffle announced yesterday effectively made Steven Joyce the new Minister of Labour. Joyce was the Nats campaign manager so he knows exactly what National's business backers have been putting the money up for. Call me paranoid but I'm thinking that putting the Government's bully-boy…
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Juking the stats
There's some odd omissions from Key's new '10 targets'. There's nothing hard. Nothing about closing the gap with Australia, formerly goal number 1. Nothing about creating jobs, despite 170,000 being promised. Nothing about the cycleway that was going to end the recession. It invites a…
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Open mike 16/03/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Operation 8 verdict
I'm sitting at the High Court awaiting the verdict in the Operation 8 trial. Whichever way it goes this case is a big failure for the police. After the biggest surveillance operation against activists this country has ever seen, the most that will happen is…
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If this is it…
Key and co's habit of making vague lists of things they would like to happen, rather than doing anything to make them happen, is becoming a joke. The other day it was a 6 point business action plan, not to be confused with their 4…
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Mythbustin’: Waitakere Man
Chris Trotter invented the myth of the so-called 'Waitakere Man', the former Labour voter who has set up his own business and now doesn't vote Labour because he thinks it doesn't get what people like him need - he fumes over DPB mums while trying…
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On those that need to work harder
Recently, an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal describing how CEOs around the world spend their time. The article drew on data from a larger study, the Executive Time Use Project . This project relied on reports of time use by CEO’s personal assistants; making it…
capitalism class war economy employment jobs uncategorized wages workers' rights
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Shearer’s speech exceeds expectations
You all know that many of us authors at The Standard have been critical of David Shearer. Well, I've just read Shearer's speech. It's brilliant. It talks about the big issues head on - shades of Cunliffe and The Standard in some of it. There's…
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Pearson goes to ground over privacy scandal
There are two, quite striking, things about PoAL's response to the story about them illegally shopping union members' private information to Cameron Slater. The first is that port Chair Richard Pearson went to ground. It has clearly been part of their new campaign manager, Brent…
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Open mike 15/03/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Key’s laundry list of broken promises
He must resign. Surely. Here is Key, speaking to the PSA in 2008, making very specific promises about public service jobs, tax cuts, and asset sales that helped him get elected. Promises he has since broken. There's no excuse. He wasn't blind-sided by events. He…
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Shearer’s Starting Speech
Tomorrow morning David Shearer gives the first of a series of speeches that should set the tone of his leadership. It'll be live-streaming from 7.30am on labour.org.nz, and will outline his vision for Labour and Aotearoa. Video clips will be posted later in the day…
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Key: better for me if you don’t vote
Key hates interest-free student loans, the only thing that has kept thousands more from leaving the country for higher wages, but says "it’s not politically sustainable to put interest back on student loans". Why? "That is about the only thing that will get [young people]…
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ImperatorFish: A Political Appointment To The Law Commission?
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here. Derek Cheng at the Herald reports: Justice Minister Judith Collins has appointed former Cabinet colleague Wayne Mapp to the Law Commission, ignoring recommendations and without…
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Wastewatch: measuring graduate incomes
The Nats abandoned their wastewatch.co.nz site a few years back after being unable to identify significant waste. They should have just waited a few years. Now, the examples are neverending. Today's case: Steven Joyce's plan to publish the average incomes of graduates of different courses.…
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More from the Port…
As the intransigence of the Port of Auckland management and board continues, action from the Left continues on a number of fronts. There's to be an emergency Council meeting on Thursday (11.15, public meeting) after it was felt that Richard Northey's resolution against the contracting…
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Port thuggery
Looks like the bullies at the Ports of Auckland have been colluding with Cameron Slater to unlawfully release the details of union members who speak out in the media including Cecil Walker, who spoke out on Radio New Zealand. From RNZ: Mr Walker needed time…
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Open mike 14/03/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Ministry of National Significance?
The trailers for John Key's Thursday speech are calling it for a " new super-Ministry" under the command of Steven Joyce. It appears to be a merger for the Ministry of Economic Development, a submergence for the Department of Labour, and the same old same…
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Reining in student loans
As widely reported today, Key made several comments on student loans this morning. The news that they will remain interest free will be very welcome of course. Key is refreshingly honest about the naked political opportunism in this - he'd like to bring back the…
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NRT: Judith Collins’ brazen cronyism
Reprinted from No Right Turn. Judith Collins' brazen cronyism Last month, Justice Minister Judith Collins appointed former National MP Wayne Mapp to the Law Commission. It looked like a crony appointment, so I submitted the usual OIA request, seeking information on whether the appointment process…
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China
There's been much wailing and gnashing of teeth over Pengxin Shanghai's attempt to buy the Crafar farms. Justified too. I want to take a step back (fuck, I'm starting to talk like Key) and look at the strategy that China is executing and the imperatives…
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Pull the other one, John
Key to Mike Hosking: "New Zealand either needs to borrow more or earn more, and I'm in the camp that we need to earn more" sourced from stats infoshare and the PREFU if you want to see the long-run. Just makes Key's look even worse.
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‘Perks’?
It's easy to attack the extra remuneration that diplomats get while on posting as 'perks' that can be cut. But they serve an important purpose. Diplomats and their families have to up-root their whole lives to go on posting. For diplomats' partners, that usually means…