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Matt McCarten doesn't pull any punches, comparing Banks to both Phillip Field and Winston Peters: Penance depends on party of political sinner Taito Phillip Field had constituents give their labour as a trade-off for immigration help. John Banks asked a wealthy Aucklander for $50,000 and…
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My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere (no linkwhoring). This 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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The Greens have collected 100,000 signatures for the Keep Our Assets Coalition petition to force a referendum on asset sales - in fact, my Asset Keeper email says they were up another thousand at the end of Friday. The Coalition's total is rapidly approaching 200,000.…
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I'm really looking forward to Peter Dunne retiring next election. Not as much as I would like to see him defeated but getting rid of him by any means is a godsend. This week, he has been blackmailing Labour: demanding they doff their caps to…
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This week Labour MP Louisa Wall's marriage equality bill was drawn from the ballot, with a first reading reading expected within weeks. According to 3 News the "Gay marriage debate takes off". I suspect that the Nats are smiling happily to themselves, and hoping for…
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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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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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This is the second post in what, depressingly, may become a series of posts about arming the police. Regular as clockwork the suggestion keeps coming back, here's the latest version: Call for 'guns on hips' renewed after rifle aimed at cop The Police Association has…
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3 opposition private members' Bills passed - extended paid parental leave, Mondayisation, and lobbying disclosure - on Wednesday (moving a ban on land sales to foreigners up the list). Then, all 5 drawn from the ballot on Thursday opposition bills too: marriage equality, $15hr minimum…
greens human rights labour minimum wage Parliament privatisation
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After 18 months of doing nothing to fix the insurance crisis that every man and his dog has been saying is crippling the Christchurch rebuild, Overlord Brownlee has finally acted. He's come out with .... wait for it ..... a big whinge at insurance companies.…
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Sure enough, this isn't over for John Banks. He has now been caught out in a direct lie told while he was a minister. On April 27, when asked about Mr Dotcom's donations, Mr Banks told the Herald: "I kept the finances of the campaign…
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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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Police will not lay charges over the so-called banks.com saga. Assistant Police Commissioner Malcolm Burgess held a press conference this afternoon at Police National Headquarters in Wellington. Minister John Banks would be issued with a warning over the matter, Burgess said. While he only received…
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In honour of Tony Blair and Sam Cam's attempt at an affectionate greeting at Tuesday's lunch at No 10, The Guardian has amassed a small but disgusting collection of political leaders essaying similar tasks. Warning: not for the squeamish or fainthearted. The Guardian cannot be…
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Eddie got there before me, but yesterday seemed to be a day of nasty attacks, not just by Maggie Barry. (Incidentally, check out #maggiebarrystandingorders on Twitter for some laughs - apparently you need 3 stars on Trade Me to talk about Asset Sales...) Tau Henare…
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Remember all the fuss in 2008 when the Labour government tried to make a 1% increase in road user charges affecting truckies? Remember the "truck strike"? A "blockade of major centres", with commuters advised to stay at home. Quelle horreur! Well brace yourselves, because: Truckies…
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Police were unable to establish that Mr Banks had the necessary knowledge that the donation had been recorded as anonymous in the return before he signed and submitted it. As No Right Turn puts it: So basically they're letting him off because he didn't read…
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National is threatening to veto a Labour bill to extend paid parental leave, claiming it costs too much (they've been exaggerating the cost). At the same time, they're trying to defend writing a blank cheque for looters' bonuses. And they're getting nasty about it. Maggie…
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In Britain the Tory government's austerity measures are working so well that they have created the worst double-dip recession in 50 years: Shock 0.7% fall in UK GDP deepens double-dip recession Britain's economic output collapsed by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2012 as the…
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What are the "asset loyalty" schemes going to cost? $350 Million? $1.3 Billion? Nothing? $200 Million? I don't know, and neither does John Key. But whatever it costs, he'll find the money. Because handouts to the rich are important. Unlike, say, parental leave: Govt still…
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Last month on The Nation (or Q+A?) Groser mentioned how the much hyped, but actually insignificant, free trade deal with Russia had hit a mysterious wall. Groser couldn't even get to see the current minister and had "tough" talks with the ex-minister instead, while Key's…
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John Key's grasp of his own asset sales policy is being revealed to be shakier by the day. He doesn't know how it would hurt the government books. He flips his position on water rights each day. He doesn't know how much a looters' bonus…
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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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Labour and the Greens are producing great infographics that succinctly, and often wittily, explain what the government's doing wrong on issues of the day and bust National's myths. They chuck them up on Facebook and Twitter and they spread like wildfire. They're a really effective…
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When the Nats created CERA - the Gerry Brownlee Enabling Act - they tried to make it so no-one could challenge his decisions under the Act in court. The Courts hate such 'ouster clauses' and react by allowing cases on whether a decision was made…
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It’s been 16 years since Susan Snively’s ground-breaking report [doc] on the economic cost of domestic violence in New Zealand. In 1996 the prevalence rate of domestic violence was estimated at 1 in 7 people – 301,691, including 129,556 children – with an economic cost…
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There's been some talk around the 'sphere about a speech where David Parker made comments that some (*cough* Chris 'the Right's favourite Leftie' Trotter *cough*) thought meant he supported asset sales. That obviously caused confusion because Parker and Labour are clearly against asset sales. Now,…
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The biggest petition to Parliament in 3 years was presented yesterday with Greenpeace's 140,000 signature call for the Government to halt subsidisation of fossil fuels and invest in a clean energy future instead. 140,000 signatures is a remarkable achievement. Predictably, it got a nasty response…
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There are 2 great bills coming before parliament today. Both the Government is opposing, but Labour have the numbers - barring a last minute tangi. The first I have a familial bias towards - it's my brother's Mondayising Holiday Bill. Quite why the government oppose…