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Being a good employer takes a collective effort. Being nice, inquiring about the kids and genuinely taking an interest in your employees is good but does not a good employer make. Good employers are a result of what the business model allows them to do,…
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The most recent Roy Morgan was good news for the left: Today’s New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows a substantial fall in support for Prime Minister John Key’s National Party to 40.5% (down 3.5% since March 11-24, 2013). Support for Key’s Coalition partners shows the…
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It is absolutely essential for National that lots of ordinary Kiwis buy Mighty River shares. They've staked their whole reputation on it. To that end, they've fostered a belief that the shares will be a licence to print money. That was never the case -…
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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: Vienna 1913,…
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The Key government and those who support the privatisation of the power companies have pulled their response from the Reds-under-the-beds play book, as seen in James Henderson's Standard post. However, a similar policy has worked successfully in capitalist California. And similar principles are the…
assets capitalism david parker energy greens infrastructure labour mana-party news privatisation russel norman same old national socialism spin
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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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Sean Plunket's piece on NZ Power wasn't quite what I expected. After invoking the usual grim vision of the 1970s (although I swear I detected a slight wistful nostalgia) he breaks out the following conclusion: With the world struggling to cope with the downstream of…
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So, the Nonsensical Sentencing Trust wants to set up an anonymous website criticising the decisions of NZ judges, because any guilty verdict handed down to a poor brown person which doesn't result in hanging is obviously too lenient. Naturally, this has caused some consternation among…
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There are two basic ways to make money in this world - do something and get paid for what you do/produce is worth, or own something that produces wealth out of all proportion to the little or no work you put in. The latter is…
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Of all the reaction to the Labour / Greens electricity proposals so far, this endorsement analysis has been by far the most significant: Labour-Greens plan could work, says Vector CEO The electricity policy announced by the Labour and Green parties could be made to work…
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Given the drama surrounding the Labour / Green electricity policy it seems appropriate for this week's Poverty Watch to explore the topic of fuel poverty in NZ. Going some small way to alleviating fuel poverty is what this policy revolution is all about. In 2012…
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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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Commenting on Labour/Greens NZPower, Steven Joyce compared it to communist regimes like North Korean and Albania. Some equally desperate commenters on the Standard have said the Labour and the Greens will once again be devastated by advertising like 1975 National's famous "dancing cossacks." I don't…
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John Key seems to have dropped out of sight since he had a bit of a hard time in the House this week. But he popped up on TV3 News tonight, to make a comment about the Labour-Green NZ Power policy. He said that: In…
assets capitalism energy greens john key labour privatisation slippery
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Tax evasion is estimated at $1-6 billion, so that graph could look a lot worse too. And then there's our GINI, the measure of income inequality in NZ:
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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. Steven Joyce yesterday claimed that the plan by Labour and the Greens to reform the electricity sector was from "the North Korean School of Economics".…
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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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Yesterday, amidst all the other things happening in the news, this appeared with relatively little attention. Pike River found guilty of negligence, leading to the death of of 29 miners: miners too young to die, leaving behind bereaved families, friends and a mourning community. Pike…
capitalism disaster john key Mining news slippery workers' rights
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Bank profits are up again. A 10 per cent increase over the past three months it was announced yesterday. What we don’t often hear though is how this profit is generated. It basically goes like this. Bank staff are all under sales targets. They need…
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Here is a link to the CTU Workers Memorial Day event in Auckland on 28 April. We will be bringing together families that have lost loved ones in the Forestry Industry to tell their stories and call for change. I hope some of you can…
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National, far from being their idealised "low tax party" are in fact the "stealth tax party". While they've lowered the top rate of tax and the company rate, helping out the wealthiest, there has been regressive tax after regressive tax increase on the smaller hidden…
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For the second time in a week I have to congratulate Peter Dunne on having the sense to oppose the Nats: Peter Dunne opposes charter schools Revenue Minister Peter Dunne says he will vote against legislation establishing charter schools. ... Dunne says he's not convinced…
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National's reaction to the Labour/Greens NZ Power announcement was telling. They panicked. There was no genuine critique, just 'won't someone think of the shareholders'. The panic affected judgement with Joyce putting out a rant of a press release that would have been nixed if anyone…
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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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I don't think this is a rogue poll - and it came before the Powerco announcement! The trend line is certainly clear now and should reassure Eddie. John Key better get his knighthood sorted. We'll have to watch out for the Pink Piranha now -…
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First let me say that the NZ Power policy is some of the best progressive policy I've seen for a long time - it's so good to see a real move to break with the Chicago School consensus. And it's good to see the right…
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The best that the Nats can come up with in response to the Labour / Green electricity reforms is juvenile posturing (via twitter) about Stalinist extremism and "comrades Norman and Shearer". This from the National Party that brought you cancelled democratic elections, harsh punishments for…
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Many of us have long been arguing that there is a need for a new left direction: one in which "left wing" parties, like Labour and the Greens, turn away from soft neoliberalism, and re-connect with those on low incomes who have become disenfranchised by…
class class war climate change community democracy democratic participation feminism greens labour Left socialism sustainability Unions welfare
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Power prices having been rising much more quickly in NZ than in other OECD countries. With the current privatisation of state owned generators, the problem will get worse not better. Something needs to be done. At noon today Labour and the Greens jointly announced new…