A win for the Nats, a loss for the country. As reported on 3 News: Maori Council loses water rights bid The Government can forge ahead with its asset sales agenda after the Maori Council’s bid for a judicial review into water ownership was rejected.…
In these troubling times, it was uplifting to see the flax-roots, practical and collaborative action at the Onehunga Recession Busting Impact rally for beneficiaries, organised by AAAP. For 3 days, there are volunteers sitting at tables in front of the WINZ office in Onehunga Mall,…
I/S at No Right Turn continues the chronicling of the Canterbury Dictatorship: --- The Local Government and Environment Committee has reported back [PDF] on the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill, and as with the recent Local Government Bill, been unable…
I am becoming increasingly despondent about the state of left wing politics in NZ as I watch the struggles in the Labour Party unfold: lurching from one contested tension to another, in an on-going bitter conflict. Currently, to govern in NZ the Left requires a…
From stuff: A $2 billion Government overhaul, including more state homes and universal child support, is needed to fight child poverty, a report from the children's commissioner says. Russell Wills' final report into child poverty has thrown the ball back to the Government, recommending 78…
The hearing into the private prosecution of John Banks over his 'anonymous' mayoral donations begins today. That the private prosecution has got this far shows the judge believes there is a prima facie case - which puts the Police to shame for failing to take…
It seems that we as a country are pondering a new innovation for Auckland: Sea pollution: Computer to predict pollution Auckland Council scientists are developing a computer model that will predict, for beach swimmers, the amount of sewage pollution on any given day. At present,…
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...
CTU response to the appalling story here. (also NRT) CTU Media Release 10 December 2012 Being fired for union membership is disgraceful The story today that Vice President of Equity Todd Rippon was dismissed by a Lord of the Rings tour guide for being a…
Irish has already covered the appalling statistics from the Children's Social Health Monitor. What struck me was the paucity of the Government's response. Tony Ryall - unavailable for comment - merely put out a statement saying the Government was doing plenty as 33% of the…
The calls for "urgent action" on climate change have been going on for a long time now. There were calls for urgent action before and after the annual climate change talks in Copenhagen 2009. The failure of those talks constitutes, in my opinion, the point…
Kim DotCom has been twittering about his new website that is under development to the amusement of some observers like Mario at gizmodo. The three shots show off the site's registration page, encryption key generator, and file manager. What's pretty funny is that even though…
Transmission Gully is meant to cost about a billion dollars to deliver about half that in benefits, right? Well, thanks to the magic of Public Private Partnerships, National's managed to triple that cost! If they manage to get the contract signed before the next election,…
Over at Stuff Ben Heather is reporting on the Children's Social Health Monitor and the chilling fact that, in the last five years, 600 Kiwi children have died from poverty related causes. Jacinda Adern makes it very clear what the cause is: Let's be clear,…
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...