The myth that National sold Mighty River Power to 'mum and dads' is dead. New analysis shows that half the retail shares went to just 12,844 people. A tiny group of 394 people bought 10% of the retail shares. Only 13.4% of the company is…
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This. This is fascism. This is fascism published by our national newspaper. Note the lack of logic. Giving spies the powers that they have in the States could prevent the kind of terrorism that just happened ... in the States. Note the complete faith in…
Labour will hold three selection meetings in the very large electorate, one at Kokiri marae in Seaview starting at 7pm, one at Hauiti marae in Tolaga Bay at 2 pm on Saturday, and the final one in Napier at St Joseph's Maori Girls College at…
It looks like Nick Smith will today grant access to West Coast conservation land, with high conservation values, for open cast mining. This looks like a cynical attempt to enforce the government's anti-conservation agenda by avoiding the need for public consultation. He is travelling to Denniston…
Charter schools are a bad idea: Charter schools 'harmful' says study Former director: Introducing charter schools 'horrendous' Charter schools a 'failed experiment in New Orleans' Charter schools damage students and teachers To make them even worse, they aren't going to be subject to the usual…
In the 50s and 60s, two eminent jurists by the names of Hart and Fuller debated what makes a legal system. Nazi Germany was their real-world example. Hart was a positivist* - he said a legal system is a legal system if people call it…
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The report on the Urewera raids from the Independent Police Complaints Authority is (unlike some other reports we could mention) certainly no whitewash: Report into Operation Eight finds Police acted unlawfully Press Release: Independent Police Conduct Authority An Independent Police Conduct Authority report has found…
February 25, 2013: Govt blocked grandiose Solid Energy plans in 2009 The government blocked proposals in 2009 from its coal mining company Solid Energy for a billion-dollar capital injection to allow it to become "the Petrobras of this country", Prime Minister John Key says. March…
So, Neazor's written his report into the 88 New Zealanders that the GCSB spied on. In the spirit of open government, National's suppressing it. But we're told it find that the GCSB 'arguably' didn't break the law. That's coming from the guy who excused them…
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Hamilton City looks like it'll be the first Council to pay a Living Wage as the appropriate sub-committee voted for it today. It will need to be confirmed by the full council, but should proceed. Currently 80 staff are paid less than the $18.40 living…
Regular readers will all know BLiP, a long time commenter who methodically documents the performance of the government. Yesterday BLiP posted the following in Open mike, it deserves to be a post of its own. Read on for an account of National's environmental record... …
Yesterday NZ's Fair Deal Coalition launched a new website, ourfairdeal.org, aimed at networking globally with others concerned about the secretive negotiation of intellectual property matters in the TTPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement). This includes a range of significant organisations with diverse, and possibly conflicting, interests.…
Key is busy explaining that his petrol tax increase won't just be funding his pet highway projects - the 'Roads of National Significance'. He says it'll go on public transport, too. Well, yeah, maybe. But the truth is that National is slashing public transport funding…
New Zealand has soaked up a lot of constitutional arrogance from this National government (see here, here), but Key might have gone too far this time. On 17th May Geddis posted this on Pundit: I think National just broke our constitution In the wake of the budget, the…
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That's what Mighty River stocks closed at today. Down on their issue price within ten days. And there's a strong chance that the Meridian float will sink the price of Mighty shares even further - they're companies with similar profiles, are regulated in the same…
In the UK the latest political scandal is the alleged description by a senior Tory of some of the Conservative Party's activist supporters as "mad, swivel-eyed loons". PM Cameron is thoroughly implicated in the mess, having apparently used similar language on a previous occasion. Shades…
The Right's fairytale machine makes a lot of Key's supposed ability to charm foreign leaders and open doors for Kiwi trade (despite the fact that none of the FTA talks he has begun show signs of conclusion). Well, the door slammed shut for meat exports…
I had heard that National's internal polling was showing they were becoming vulnerable on social equity issues. For some reason New Zealanders are coming to think of them as a government that looks after its rich mates at the expense of everyone else (who would…
As I/S pointed out yesterday, the Government's "innovation" agenda is nothing more than a cuts to R&D and hidden subsidies. Today in the Herald that's confirmed by the Associations of Scientists President, Shaun Hendy. there is also a strong primary sector flavour to several challenges…
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No Right Turn on National's science funding scam. Read it in conjunction with this piece in Stuff today on falling numbers of senior students following National's axing of the postgrad student allowance. Welcome to the Brighter Future. National's "innovation" agenda The government has been trumpeting…
A while ago a copy of The Standard (version 1.0 - the old newspaper) from 1938 crossed my (r0b's) desk. Down through the years, lining a shelf in an old wardrobe. It wasn't in perfect condition, but still perfectly legible. In 1938 Europe is on…
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