Sometimes - very occasionally - this government gets something right: Govt to roll out plain packaging on cigarettes Nearly a week after hitting smokers in the pocket with increased taxes, the Government will roll out a second hit tomorrow [yesterday], this time aimed at tobacco…
https://twitter.com/nzlabour/status/737494908248817665 Why is it that whenever some sort of deal with Labour and the Greens is raised publicly some commentators say it is the death knell for Labour's chances at the next election? The rationale seems to be that the Greens are a bunch of wide…
Even the IMF now acknowledges the downsides of neoliberal economics and government austerity policies. In a significant new report IMF economists write: Neoliberalism: Oversold? Instead of delivering growth, some neoliberal policies have increased inequality, in turn jeopardizing durable expansion ... There has been a strong…
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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 …
https://twitter.com/NewshubNZ/status/737480060186152962 https://twitter.com/patrickgowernz/status/737480433483423745 I very much hope that Gower is right - let's wait and see... https://twitter.com/ChrisBramwell/status/737483202000883715 Livestream here. Little: A memorandum of understanding - Labour and Greens to work together to change the government. Inspired by last week's failed budget. Labour and Greens have reached…
Good work by Geoff Simmons at the Morgan Foundation: Fact check: John Key & Steven Joyce on housing In a speech on Friday, Prime Minister John Key claimed that under National, twice as many new houses were being built as under Labour. Steven Joyce followed…
National's Employment Minister Michael Woodhouse has introduced a Bill, The Shop Trading Hours Amendment Bill, to give councils the right to open shops on Easter Sunday. That would mean retail workers all over the country losing one of just three and a half days in…
Well Oops - https://twitter.com/TheNBR/status/737118709081354241 Note that the wifi network and password to access budget resources are visible on the monitor and this was posted during the strict embargo period. Brilliant! Given recent events, Bernard Hickey was moved to observe - https://twitter.com/bernardchickey/status/737126634684174336 But It's OK because…
Well they would, wouldn't they: Government rejects 'fox in the henhouse' criticism The Government is rejecting claims its monitoring of over-fishing has been compromised by awarding a contract for video surveillance to a company owned by the fishing industry. Greenpeace says cameras to be installed…
News broke this morning about a major mistake by the Ministry of Social Development that caused the underpayment of benefits to tens of thousands of Kiwis. From Radio New Zealand: Almost 90,000 beneficiaries have been paid incorrectly, totalling millions of dollars, due to an automatic payment mistake…
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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 …
Excellent piece on Saturday from Tim Watkin at Pundit: Housing game-changer: Spreading the blame Housing remains the government's biggest weakness and so National is redoubling its efforts. No, not to build houses, but to contain the political damage I can't give you a precise day…
John Key's glib advice to the homeless is to go and see WINZ. This is a WINZ that (while no doubt containing caring individuals, as an institution) has been deliberately set up to be as slow, difficult and unpleasant to access as possible, and will…
One News has a scoop this morning: Panama Papers: Kiwi trust rules help exiled Kazakh leader keep luxury London mansion The details are complex and not likely to attract much excitement in NZ, but once again we have been shown to be involved in dirty…
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Winona LaDuke is an Anishinaabekwe mother of three, environmentalist, indigenous rights’ activist, economist, writer and past two time vice-presidential candidate (with Ralph Nader). In a speech last year, LaDuke presented an overview of the key areas of expertise that indigenous peoples bring to the table.…
In June there are workshops being held about the Electricity Authority’s transmission pricing proposal. Yawn, perhaps, until you get the power bill. Check the relevant dates in the link, and show you can attend by confirming to this email address. They will of course be…
Can you believe this? The Government is lurching from there is no housing crisis to it is all Auckland Council's fault to it is like Christchurch's housing crisis and the Government solved that one. Between the there is no problem to the we will sell…
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Good advice for Labour from Standard author Simon Louisson, writing on The Spinoff: The left will go on losing as long as it is so muddled and apologetic on tax National gets away with mixed messages over tax cuts because Labour has failed to grasp…
We all want a solution to the housing crisis. But this isn't the way: Key gets tough on Auckland with new policy forcing councils to release land The Prime Minister has come down hard on Auckland saying a new policy will force the city's council…
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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 …
Homeless could be offered up to $5000 to leave Auckland Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett announced in Parliament yesterday that homeless families would be offered up to $5000 to move to empty state homes outside Auckland. $3000 offer for beneficiaries to move The Government will…
It appears that Donald Trump has finally secured the Republican Party nomination, with the latest estimate of delegate numbers confirming he has achieved an outright majority. Bernie Sanders appears to be on the brink of defeat, with Hillary Clinton only a handful of delegates short…
John Key has given a powerful speech on NZ's housing crisis: Today, I want to talk in some depth about the declining rates of home ownership in New Zealand. ... It wasn’t so long ago, in the 1990s, in fact, that New Zealand had a…