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Paula Bennett wants to introduce a new regime that screens all government employees to stop child abuse. MPs have a lot of interaction with children. So will they be regularly tested? And if not, Why not? Hattip: DV
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My semi-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: capitalism, fraud,…
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The SST is reporting this morning that the Government intends that any public servant who refuses to take the proposed anti child abuse screening test will be summarily sacked. From the article: The new child-protection laws will trump existing employment legislation, removing the need for…
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Out west there are two seats in the Waitakere Ward, a seat in the Whau ward and a seat in the Rodney ward up for grabs. The Whau ward contest is quite straight forward. Labour is running a branded campaign in the ward and its…
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A Sunday feature - each week a random section scanned from a copy of The Standard, September 15th, 1938. Find out more here. This week - more from "The People's Safety Valve" - the comments section of its age! Click on the image for a…
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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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Two weeks ago the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) released, in two parts, a report into the links between poverty and child abuse (Part 1 pdf, Part 2 pdf). I covered Part 1 last week, today for Part 2. This document is called "Child abuse: an…
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So, the Nats finally work out what every project manager, and indeed most householders, already know. The "cheapest" tender is not necessarily the best tender (or the cheapest, in the long run). It is to weep: Huge cost of rotten school alters Govt views on…
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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 thought I would do some posts about the Auckland super city elections. This is the first of five intended posts and will deal with the Mayoral candidates. The other four will deal with the Councillor elections on the North Shore, out west, in Auckland…
auckland supercity C&R local body elections local government Politics
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Another quake near Seddon that shook Wellington hard. Various reports of strength, probably 6.2 at 8km. Hope all are well... Multiple aftershocks - check out http://wellingtonquakelive.co.nz/ and #eqnz.
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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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Percent of Auckland City Mission food recipients who are working: 25%
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Key and his cronies have a long history of passing laws that give themselves sweeping powers and promising (honestly, truly) that they won't use them. How many times has King Brownlee found himself in court for abusing his dictatorial powers, despite the ouster clauses in…
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Stuff's polls aren't usually known for their left-wing bias. Indeed there's a tendency for them to pitch the other way. Which is why I clicked on the results button for their latest (self-selected) poll with some trepidation. after all the question was "Should doctors be…
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On Campbell Live, and on other occasions, John Key has claimed that critics of the GCSB spying bill were all wrong. The Human Rights Commission - wrong. The Law Society - wrong. The Privacy Commissioner - wrong. Dame Anne Salmond - wrong. Everyone else wrong…
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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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This is a work in progress - taking some time to write up the transcript and my not finish it in the next few hours. So I'll update it later today, along with further comments. Transcript completed. The interview of John Key on Campbell Live…
accountability crosby textor democracy under attack john key slippery spin Spying tv us politics
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Jon Stewart is on leave, but John Oliver is doing a great job filling in on The Daily Show. Here he is enjoying some of the nonsense coming out of the current Australian election campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx9eH3qOJXw
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Percent of New Zealanders with not enough money to make ends meet: 15 (another 33% have just enough) Percent unemployed: 6.4
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It wasn't a dirty pipe. That is the claim made by veterinarian and farm performance consultant Frank Rowson, as reported by Stuff yesterday: Vet links botulism to farms not pipes A veterinarian and farm consultant doubts the recent Fonterra botulism scare was caused by a…
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Thomas Beagle at Tech Liberty has done a great job at presenting the technicalities of the Key-Dunne GCSB spying bill: Does the new GCSB Bill give them the power to spy on New Zealanders? Spying on behalf Firstly, everyone agrees that section 8C of the Bill…
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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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National spent $30m of our money to save (some of) the 800 jobs at Tiwai Point (for an extra year). People have reasonably pointed out that's the a lot of money for not much - especially when government agencies are routinely destroying jobs by sending…
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Blame my liberal world view or my legal training or the time I have spent acting for poor people who get on the wrong side of the legal system. But I think the latest Government proposal to place severe restrictions on people acquitted of offences…
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A cartoon in The Press today (via Bryce Edwards - if anyone has link to the original please post it).
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World incarceration rate: ~130 per 100,000 NZ incarceration rate: 197 per 100,000 (1.5x average) World homicide rate: 6.9 per 100,000 (homicide only worldwide comparable crime) NZ homicide rate: 0.9 per 100,000
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With all of the other political news, let us not forget the stench of corruption in the SkyCity deal and imminent legislation. This is something that can more easily be fixed by defeating the deal than some of the other hot political issues. It is a conscience…
auckland supercity community democracy corruption democratic participation politicans