Daily review 14/07/2020
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 …
National needs a safe pair of hands: Amy Adams
I realise that National probably won’t appreciate my advice. However I actually would like to have a viable competent opposition. I don’t even want an election to be as much of a pushover as this one is likely to be. If I was a stalwart National supporter or a member of their caucus, I’d be pushing for Amy Adams.
Muller goes, bring back Simon?
In breaking news Todd Muller has resigned for “health reasons”, effective immediately.
Time to bring back Simon?
Updated with some breaking links.
Open mike 14/07/2020
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 …
Daily review 13/07/2020
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 …
SFO to Investigate Labour Donations
The Serious Fraud Office has commenced an investigation in relation to donations made in 2017 to the Labour Party.
UPDATE: The investigation may involve donations made at a ‘silent’ art auction, something that Labour was upfront about back in February.
National’s ethics
There is a particularly resonant piece by Tim Watkin in Pundit. “National’s problem with privacy and privilege”. I’m only surprised that he seems to think that the National party is redeemable. They’re so into their internal myths that they fail to regard anyone or any threat as unless their voting base poll well on it. But that is National for you – they’ve consistent…. Stupid, unhelpful and short on ethics.
Of course it’s dirty politics
National’s latest attempted spin is to try and suggest that last week’s clusterfuck of rolling events did not involve in any way the slightest trace of dirty politics. How wrong they are.
Open mike 13/07/2020
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Greens policy announcement: Our Clean Energy Plan
Our Clean Energy Plan is the first part of our transformational proposal to end the use of fossil fuels in Aotearoa. It will help to ensure our grandchildren inherit a world where they can not only survive, but thrive.
The Christian Right and the 2020 election
A variety of Christian parties have attempted to gain a place in Parliament. What are the chances in 2020 of a conservative Christian Party succeeding in gaining seats?
Open mike 12/07/2020
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Union peak bodies: a beacon of hope for all workers
My view is that neither big nor small unions function particularly well in the modern-day workforce. There are many notable exceptions to this where both do very good work. But few have found the balance of good local support for members, tackling national and international issues and crucially not wasting considerable time and resource fighting another rival union encroaching on their patch.
Open mike 11/07/2020
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Local Government: crucial and undervalued
On the day of the council vote, we organised for the effected Citi-Ops workers to sit in the public gallery in the Council rooms wearing their High Viz’s and work gear. I was one of three speakers for the union, expressing opposition to axing these jobs. The Council debated the issue for about 30 minutes. Those councillors in favour of making the workers redundant argued that they should not interfere with management decisions. Those against the decision felt that management did not have the mandate to make this decision. The vote ended up being 7-7, so Green Party Mayor Celia Wade-Brown used her casting vote to uphold management’s decision to outsource these workers jobs. The Citi Operations staff were sitting in the room, so Celia and the councillors were looking at these workers as they made them redundant.
Daily review 10/07/2020
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 …
Jian Yang announces retirement so he can spend more time with his family
Jian Yang, he with impeccable Chinese Communist Party links and of formidable fundraising ability, has announced that he is is retiring from politics.
Did any National MP not receive confidential information from Michelle Boag?
Michael Woodhouse has admitted that he received confidential information from Michelle Boag a couple of weeks before he said that it was “unconscionable and unacceptable” that the leaks were happening.
Everybody gets a road
National has made two major roading project announcements in the past week. Both announcements recycled announcements that were also made before the last election.
Open mike 10/07/2020
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Daily review 09/07/2020
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 …
Requiem for a smelter
New Zealand was always a odd place to have a aluminium smelter. Untapped hydroelectricity capacity at the bottom of the world. But thousands of kilometers from raw material sources. Tens of thousands of kilometers from the major markets. Now our ever rising electricity prices show that we really need that 13% of power in our electricity market rather than making aluminium.
Some Random impertinent questions about Michelle Boag’s access to confidential medical information
Westpac Helicopter Trust’s claim that it had not breached privacy rights of Covid sufferers raises some serious questions about why Michelle Boag was provided with sensitive information. And who she has provided it to.
Open mike 09/07/2020
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Daily review 08/07/2020
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 …
Walkergate: MP Quits
Privacy breaching MP Hamish Walker has announced he will step down at the next election. But who else should go?
Update: Muller tries to divert attention by announcing that National still want a 4 lane highway from Chch to Ashburton. Problem solved!
Trashing the country’s Covid response for political advantage
As details emerge about Hamish Walker’s leaking of confidential information of Covid sufferers for political advantage, questions are being asked about Todd Muller’s leadership and if National is actually committed to assisting the country’s response to Covid 19.
Open mike 08/07/2020
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Clusterfuck
Hamish Walker and Michelle Boag have admitted leaking private information about covid sufferers for political gain.
Daily review 07/07/2020
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 …
Open mike 07/07/2020
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 …
Daily review 06/07/2020
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 …
National’s dilemma – business as usual is failing them.
Audrey Young’s take in Granny Herald was interesting. “No ordinary Labour speech by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern”. That is because the political ‘business as usual’ approach by the business orientation of National campaigning using the politics of fear and envy doesn’t work well in times of crisis. Business simply has too short a viewpoint to be acceptable in government at present – or increasingly in our uncertain future.
Does National actually have any policy?
National has recently been upping the campaign rhetoric but there is a disturbing lack of policy detail.
Wellington buses now: how a local authority harmed public transport
Sure to form, Paul Swain along with Regional Council Chair and another former Labour MP Fran Wilde proposed tearing down the trolleybus wire and increasing the city’s carbon emission. This was to then promptly followed by re-tendering all the bus routes having redesigned all the bus network so that bus companies could then compete over routes and undercut each other. At one council meeting in mid-2016 Swain was questioned about the possibility of protecting drivers jobs and employment conditions. After a few questions, he lost patience, slammed in hand on the table and ended the meeting. This was the extent to which Swain and the Greater Wellington Regional Council considered supporting bus drivers during this process.
Open mike 06/07/2020
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