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John Key is a very arrogant politician. His first term honeymoon obscured the fact from most, but it's starting to get more and more obvious. Case in point, Key thinks that the public backlash against many unpopular policies (asset sales, fuelling problem gambling etc) is…
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Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here. The United Kingdom is in recession again. This was entirely predictable. The right convinced themselves that severe austerity measures would somehow magic up growth. It…
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Gareth Morgan and Peter Harris will speak at a Community Forum on the sale of State-owned assets on Sunday 29th at 3:30pm at the Island Bay Bowling Club, 260 The Parade, Island Bay, Wellington. The forum is being organised by the Wellington South Branch of…
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While climate change deniers try to claim that there is still a scientific debate going on, the serious, practical people of the world are making plans for a warming planet. Serious, practical people like the military organisations of the world: As ice cap melts, militaries…
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The Herald today reveals that, in 2001, Judith Collins, when she chaired the Casino Control Authority before entering Parliament, rubber-stamped a 'pokies for convention centre' deal with SkyCity. This despite her conceding casino pokies cause outsize harm. This neglect of duty by the now Nat…
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Tax increases on working people: GST hike, replaced Labour's cuts with cuts for the rich, put tax on your employer Kiwisaver contributions, cut WfF tax credits. Record emigration to Australia: 53,237 last year, 1000+ per week.
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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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James Murdoch has confirmed to the Leveson enquiry that he did discuss News International's bid to take over BSkyB with Cameron at a dinner at the home of Rebekah Brooks. Last year I wrote a post about Cameron's denial that he had an inappropriate conversation…
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So Steven Joyce's personal fiefdom is confirmed; his Super-Ministry will come into being on July 1. Many will not see how Economic Development, Science and Innovation, Building and Housing, and Labour are an obvious combination. Or any combination. As David Cunliffe puts it: [It's] a…
business health housing public services science Steven Joyce tenants' rights workers' rights
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Zetetic's recent post on the Gisborne rail line generated a lot of comment. Almost a week later a final comment was added clean.air (a new contributor). Clean.air has an insider's knowledge of the issues, and the comment deserves a wider audience, so here it is…
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Molly Melhuish was one of dozens of oral submitters on the Privatising Your Assets Mixed Ownership Model Bill yesterday - all of them opposed. She presented research showing that the average price of power from a private provider is 3.31 c/kWh higher than from an…
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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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Today marks the lives and loss of lives of many New Zealanders in battle fields around the world. One can only wonder of what they would make of the world they have fought for. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpgzuVuHg1U
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Alastair Cameron has been appointed Chief of Staff in David Shearer's Parliamentary office. I'm delighted to hear it; we were on the New Zealand Council together when Alastair was a law student. Along with Jordan Carter, he established Young Labour's Summer School which has become…
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At the Finance Select Committee today, Maggie Barry told a submitter "You are not here to ask us questions, you are here to answer our questions." The submitter's question was reasonable; could National members guarantee once foreign owners had an interest that the companies could…
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The Finance and Expenditure Select Committee hearings into National's "Mixed-Ownership Model" Bill (aka Asset Sales) have begun in Wellington. The vast majority of the more than 600 submitters to the select committee process are opposed (incl me) - most of them very strongly so. Of…
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The poor are lazy bludgers who won't do a proper day's work. Wealth is a reward for virtue and hard work. Right? No - it's a bit more complicated than that. By popular acclaim we're pulling the following comment by rosy up as a Guest…
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Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here. A bitter fight has erupted within the ACT Party over the decision by leader John Banks to vote against keeping the alcohol purchasing age at…
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Oh this is a Bad Idea. From theodp on Slashdot: Microsoft Patent Hints At Search Results Tailored To User's Mood, Intelligence "A newly surfaced Microsoft patent application, reports GeekWire, describes a 'user-following engine' that analyzes your posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites…
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Since 2004, the government has collected a problem gambling levy from all types of licenced gambling to fund the government's spending on problem gambling. It was introduced along with the sinking lid on pokies (the more you look back, the better the fifth Labour Government…
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The FYI project and I/S at No Right Turn have uncovered what appears to be massive abuse of expenses by Albert Brantley, the CEO of Genesis Energy, whom we pay $1.2m a year. It puts me in mind of Marie Antoinette, consuming extravagant meals worth…
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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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Neo-Liberalism is a moral and intellectual justification for greed. A way for those few who accumulate wealth, by impoverishing many, to justify themselves, and keep those they are stealing from docile and compliant. This purpose for centuries has been fulfilled by religion. We still see…
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This country produces $200 billion of wealth a year. Yet half of adults have incomes less than $29,000 a year. 200,000 kids live in poverty, may in working families. A tiny few - the 1% - pocket the lion's share. There is no justification. It…
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Very interesting article by Steve Kilgallon on Stuff yesterday. It reports the experience of ex cop Martin Legge: The inside man Martin Legge spent two decades as a cop in Levin, catching the crims and then, as police prosecutor, taking them to court. Now, he…
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John Key likes to trade on his experience as a, well, trader. You know, he's the deal maker. The one to steer us through tough economic times, to get our exports growing. He understands the markets and that knowledge will benefit New Zealand. But, how…
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Fran 'sell it all' O'Sullivan says the government's case for selling Crafar farms "appears robust". Well, she would say that. But, if you read it, you'll see they've just done a half-arsed, perfunctory attempt to appear to abide by the law as defined by the…
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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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Behold the economic genius of John Key. On the profits of capitalism being fair reward for risk: "...you can’t expect their shareholders to invest for six years without certainty of their investment." On being creative and ambitious for New Zealand: We’re not building the locomotives…
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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...