Explore the archive
Find articles and conversations by date, subject or search expression.
Searching: posts Sorted by: newest Results: 1–30 of 31
Post
I'm no economist, but shouldn't the fact that China's main stockmarket has lost 28% of its share value since mid June be a cause of concern for some? As far as I understand stuff, NZ was somewhat buffered from the 2008 financial collapse in the…
Post
Herald columnist Paul Little has done some good stuff in the past, but today's effort on Greenpeace is a disgrace. Nothing but ill-informed prejudice on parade: It's stunt season for show ponies Friends don't let friends work for Greenpeace. When one of my friends told…
Post
Another Herald Gossip columnist with strong National Party links, Pebbles Hooper, created a stir yesterday on Twitter by suggesting that the tragic death of an Ashburton mum and her three children was "natural selection". Although the causes of their death are known the police are still investigating…
Post
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 …
Post
On Friday The Herald published (as obscurely as it could) the following: Press council rules against Herald on 'Ponygate' interview On April 23, the New Zealand Herald published, front-page and online, an article about Amanda Bailey and the controversy over her reaction to the Prime…
Post
There was this one time when the Government understood that workers coming into NZ to help rebuild Christchurch were very vulnerable to exploitation. Because a work visa is tied to a particular employer, migrant workers found that raising any issue such as getting the minimum…
Post
There never was a "rockstar" economy. There was a period of high international dairy prices and artificial stimulus from the Christchurch rebuild. Take those away and what have you got? Not much: Economy expands 0.2pc - weakest quarterly growth in two years New Zealand's $239…
Post
Labour MP Poto Williams has been running a campaign against a proposed National law change that will require charities to pay for what will be compulsory vetting of volunteers. The cost to the voluntary sector will be considerable. Despite a number of submissions being made…
Post
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?
Post
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 …
Post
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas 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.
Post
In what may be an unheard of event within NZ First, Winston Peters' choice of deputy leader has been dumped. Tracey Martin has been voted out in favour of Ron Mark. Both Martin and Mark are good contributors in Parliament, though Mark has far more…
Post
I was impressed that Andrew Little tweeted a supportive response to Mandy Hager's open letter to Labour Leader Andrew Little. I fully agree with Ms Hager that the Labour leader must show passion and fire. I just watched President Barack Obama sing Amazing Grace in a…
Andrew Little Deep stuff greens james shaw labour nz first Politics winston peters
Post
National Party Minister Nick Smith appears to have misled Parliament in his response to what appears to be clear evidence of the illegal export of kauri logs. Kauri can only be exported as a finished product or as a stump. Smith, speaking on behalf of…
accountability China exports same old national sustainability
Post
The Press Council has now released its decision on the complaints laid against the Herald about Rachel Glucina's reporting of Amanda Bailey's story. The complaint was essentially that Glucina had obtained statements from Bailey by subterfuge by claiming that she was acting in her capacity as…
Post
In the US the Democrats and the Republicans are more similar than different, and both are vassals of big money and lobbyists. A presidential election can still throw up some characters though, and the current one has a field that ranges from the sublime to…
Post
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 …
Post
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas 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.
Post
Twenty eight legal academics have written an open letter to Murray McCully expressing their concern at the worsening rule of law situation in Nauru. Some of them are asking for it to be circulated. Professor Andrew Geddis, one of the signatories, writes at Pundit: Bad…
Post
Greece is in an impossible situation. It's clear that rejecting the demands of the IMF / "troika" might lead to instant catastrophe. But is it widely understood just how bad accepting those demands would be? An excellent piece in The Guardian: IMF: austerity measures would…
Post
The Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill allows designated Ministers to sell off state houses. Currently Housing New Zealand has no such power. Interestingly however, this Government could introduce a Bill with criteria to enable sales to be signed off by the CE of Housing…
Abuse of power assets business capitalism Economy housing Maori Issues pasifika poverty privatisation uncategorized
Post
Compare and contrast. Charter school: Massive surplus for cash cow charter A Whangarei charter school has banked an operating surplus of more than $2.4million, thanks to funding well above the amount regular schools receive. Audited financial accounts released to the charities commission show the He…
Post
Radio New Zealand has just reported that New Zealand First deputy leader Tracy Martin may be replaced by Ron Mark as deputy leader this week. Jane Patterson said this morning that caucus sources have reported that Mark will take over tomorrow. Martin's mother is the president…
Post
In August 2013 National announced the payment to Rio Tinto of $30 million to persuade the multi national corporation to continue with its contract to purchase electricity from Meridian Energy. Many thought at the time that the payment was cynical manipulation by Rio Tinto of…
Post
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 …
Post
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.
Post
I've been meaning to write on this madness for a long time: KiwiRail cost-saving plan 'nuts' Cash-strapped KiwiRail is proposing to replace electric trains with more diesel-powered engines - a move which will horrify environmentalists and could see the loss of hundreds of jobs. Fairfax…
Post
On the left we are all busy people. Our activists are trying to balance work and family and the desire to make the world a better place. Our bloggers are trying to say or post something profound and take care of all of their other…
Abuse of power Deep stuff democracy under attack Media the praiseworthy and the pitiful
Post
The financial world is uncharted territory now as Greece has defaulted on and IMF loan repayment. The Guardian's live blog is the best place to go for news. As the last Global Financial Crisis taught us, we're in for another round of protecting the banks…
Post
The police should be above the law. Well that's the opinion of Judith Collins at least, in this piece from last week. It's so mind boggling that I have to quote it at length: Devil is in the detail for undercover cops in Red Devils…