This is no ordinary election (f*ck the polls)
This isn’t a set in stone election, it’s one that is in the midst of change, quite possibly big change. The Greens opened a door, what can we do to step through?
Open Mike 31/07/2017
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National’s 2017 election list
National’s 2017 list has been announced and it has a very same old same old feel about it.
The Dinner Party
An entirely relevant piece of prop from overseas.
A couple of morning cartoons
Digitally shaping the election
Social media offers a rich tool for profiling voters and targeting election advertising or informal messaging. There’s a good piece on RNZ today looking at the issue. How long before we see the methods used by Brexit and Trump campaigns employed in NZ?
Open Mike 30/07/2017
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American political right -spectacular self-harm
I know that insane news out of America has become predictably ho-hum, but this week has been stunning. There is now a real risk that the Republican administration will break healthcare deliberately and burn their own people out of spite. That’s the level of right-wing politics in America.
A tale of three immigrants
The Government is refusing to allow a Tongan family with a very sick child and an American family who ran a very successful cafe from staying in New Zealand but rolled out the red carpet to an uber rich American who did not meet all of the requirements.
Reactions to Metiria – the political and the personal
There are basically two kinds of reaction to Metiria’s bombshell, the practiced “outrage’ of the usual political operatives, and the support of the ordinary people. I think that the louder the operatives shout, the more that people are going to side with the under-dog.
Open Mike 29/07/2017
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Daily Review 28/07/2017
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Climate Change actions for the middle classes
It’s time to put our money and resources where our hearts and minds and values are.
The Failed Estate – Flake News
Mr Denmore of the failed estate explores the increasing irrelevance that Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids are having on Australian politics.
Blind to the facts on Auckland rail
Ben Ross at The Spinoff “The government’s continued support of the road freight industry in preference to expanding the role of rail, in the face of the data in this report, makes a complete mockery of its claim to prudent economic management. It makes, instead, a pretty good case for incompetence, or cronyism, or both.”
Open Mike 28/07/2017
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Daily Review 27/07/2017
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Paula Bennett gets owned by Phil Twyford in question time
This afternoon in Parliament during question time Paula Bennett showed clearly that this Government has no idea what to do about the housing crisis.
ETS – That’s our coffin they’re talking about
Professor Euan Mason of the University of Canterbury’s School of Forestry in response to the proposed changes: “This is the nail in the coffin of our ETS.”
National’s Bennett problem
Graham Adams at Noted on Paula Bennett: “Nevertheless, these questions are not going to go away and what is certain is that Bill English can not afford to have Bennett share billboard space with him until they are answered satisfactorily”.
Raging at Metiria is not about the fraud – it’s that she sided with the lepers
Graham Cameron cuts through the obsession over fraud to the cultural values of the last 30 years and the fear beneath.
Open Mike 27/07/2017
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Daily Review 26/07/2017
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Lies. Damned Lies. And Diesel.
Britain follows France in banning the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles from 2040. Good news?
National will distort MMP for its own benefit, again
Without a cup of tea in sight National has announced that it will asking supporters to vote for Act leader David Seymour in Epsom and United Future leader Peter Dunne in Ohariu.
Did English break the law during Dotcom debacle?
David Fisher on the Dotcom spying debacle: “But the legal action which disclosed the extended spying also targets English specifically, saying he acted “unlawfully” when he signed a ministerial certificate intended to bury the spying operation forever.”
The Democrats and Russia
The Trump presidency appears to be in a death spiral because of the Russia issue. But the Democrats are not taking advantage. Why?
Beneficiary reduction targets, homelessness and suicide
Most people would be shocked to learn that each WINZ case manager is assigned the target of getting a certain number of people off the benefit every month. This is one of the reasons why we have such a punitive and aggressive welfare system. Fewer than half of those removed from the benefit go to jobs. The Nats neither know nor care what happens to the rest, but links to the rising number of homeless and our shocking suicide statistics should be investigated.
Open Mike 26/07/2017
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Daily Review 25/07/2017
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How much is Mike Hosking paid by TVNZ?
Mike Hosking does not want there to be a debate on how much he earns from TVNZ and thinks that there would be an adverse irrational response from the public if the information was released. This is the best reason yet why disclosure should occur.
Let’s get rid of these clowns
The Government’s failure to do anything about the housing crisis or about zombie cannabis is evidence they should be removed from office.
Greens: Grandparents and children deserve better than National’s ‘penal welfare’
National’s ‘penal welfare’ approach is failing kids, failing caregivers and failing New Zealand.
The truth behind job numbers
Bruce Munro’s excellent piece in the ODT, looks in to the truth behind the Nats’ job numbers: “It does not take much digging in Statistics New Zealand’s latest Household Labour Force Survey to uncover a growing world of low-paid work, insufficient working hours, financial struggles and unfulfilled lives”.
Transport in Auckland and National’s deliberate incompetence
National appear to be completely uninterested in spending Aucklander’s transport taxes on Auckland. Instead they want to put in roads that have no economic measurable benefits for Auckland except to increase the road congesting trucks on our roads. Why do National hate Auckland?
Open Mike 25/07/2017
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