An anonymous editorial in The Herald this morning really is atrocious: Mediocrity rules under school plan More than two years have passed since the Government announced an impressive plan for improving schools by paying them to work more closely together. They were to form clusters…
Andrew Little (who personally shot JFK and who secretly posts on The Standard under the aliases lprent, mickysavage and r0b yeah uh huh definitely) has weighed in on the latest round of dirty politics: Andrew Little: 'Toxic' Cameron Slater not wanted in NZ politics ...…
As far as I can ascertain Cameron Slater has released one statement about the allegations made against him by Ben Rachinger aired on the Nation last weekend. Slater is a self confessed social media guru. His statement does not appear to be on his own site. He…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Watch the excellent Helen Kelly on Q+A this morning, discussing workplace health and safety, and the current proposals to water down safety legislation. "The problem is that our workplaces are unregulated and dangerous" "Good economies have both regulated the labour market and health and safety.…
Yesterday Ben Rachinger's story was told on The Nation - one part of it at least, the allegation (well supported by documentary evidence) that Cameron Slater offered him $5,000 to hack this blog. (Wasted money Cameron, there's nothing here to see!) You can watch The…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
A few days ago, I noticed an article on Stuff on three strikes. It started rationally. The "three-strikes legislation", which passed into law in June 2010 after a push from then-ACT politician David Garrett, gives people who commit violent offences "strikes" when they plead or are…
I hesitated before writing this. I knew that nothing I could write would do justice to the courage of Ms Seales and her family and supporters. The recent decision of Justice Collins on assisted death makes legal sense to me. I struggled to understand prior…
Welcome to any new readers checking out this blog today as a result of the "dirty politics" segment on The Nation. (Update: For those that didn't see The Nation, there is a summary in The Herald.)(Update: The Nation story is here). This blog started in…
A piece in The Herald yesterday outlines the shame of poverty in NZ: NZ children suffer higher relative hardship than 20 European countries The title is confusing. The measures of poverty discussed are absolute, not relative measures. "Relativity" enters in to it when comparing children…
You might want to tune in and watch The Nation this morning at 9:30. Here's yesterday's teaser: Tomorrow morning on The Nation, an investigation into allegations of more dirty politics by blogger Cameron Slater. A former confidant of Slater’s has supplied The Nation with documents,…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Slightly redesigned in support of #CampbellLives. Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don't forget to be kind to each other.
Another excellent piece by Dita De Boni: Bottom line for mental health services The most vulnerable are likely to suffer with the introduction of ‘social bonds’ for the private sector. In the United States, about $2 billion each year is shaved off community mental healthcare…
It's not often that you'll catch Tova O'Brien holding the government to account, but when she does she doesn't mince words: National's health and safety backdown disgrace ...Mark Samoa was one of 100 New Zealanders killed at work every year. That is our national average.…
Aotearoa is heading towards banana republic status. Because every last capable progressive journalist we have is being dealt to. Last week we experienced the demise of Campbell Live, a doyen of left wing journalists who survived amongst corporate media because he was damned good. Apparently…
Rightly or wrongly, the foreshore and seabed issue was the beginning of the end for the last Labour government. Strange that National seem determined to follow in their footsteps: https://twitter.com/MaikiSherman/status/606290941561872384 Here's the longer version: Government will go to court over Auckland Crown land sales, John…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Slightly redesigned in support of #CampbellLives. Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don't forget to be kind to each other.
Remember dirty politics? Do you recall that even though there was no evidence that the left had ever smeared public servants, hacked computer systems, leaked information to bloggers who then attacked critics of the Government and facilitated the release of SIS information so that Phil Goff could be…
New Greens co-leader James Shaw made climate change his defining issue, and issued a challenge to John Key to discuss common ground and work towards climate change solutions. Naturally Key, who always puts politics ahead of the common good, declined with bad grace and worse…
Yesterday we covered National's blunder in not considering Treaty settlement obligations in its plans to free up state land for Auckland housing. Today you can read someone who actually knows what they're talking about on the issue, check out Professor Geddis' piece at Pundit: A…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HVogejKx_c Slightly redesigned in support of #CampbellLives. Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don't forget to be kind to each other.
A copy of what appears to be a draft of the NZ Labour Party's review of election 2014 has been publicised by the visual entertainment arm of Mediaworks. The review was compiled by a small committee convened by the vastly experienced Bryan Gould. It's a…
I/S at No Right Turn: Rubberstamping surveillance A couple of stories from overseas about what a poor job the courts are doing of overseeing surveillance. First, from the UK, where 93% of police requests to access phone and email records are granted, and police submit…
National rushed through some panicked policy for freeing up Auckland land for housing in time for the budget. As with most rushed policy, they have made a bit of a mess of it. The rough edges are showing: Housing Minister defends plan to free up…