Blood on the Tracks
Bill English’s budget has thrown a two year lifeline to Kiwirail. But it’s not nearly enough and its hopelessly shortsighted. Rail isn’t a cost, it’s a benefit. What’s needed is investment and planning, not slash and burn.
“Labour values” are more than a talking point
What does it actually mean when we say “my values are Labour’s values”?
Another #Keyfib about Kiwisaver
The treasury release of budget policy advice suggests that John Key’s claim that changes to Kiwisaver would not have any effect on participation numbers was, ahem, erroneous.
GFC 2 in the oven: trillion dollar bailouts
Trillion dollar bank bail outs, interest rate apartheid and GREXIT. The ingredients for GFC 2 and another round of shock capitalism are quietly simmering. Graphic is of what US$1B looks like in printed notes.
Open mike 10/07/2015
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Daily review 09/07/2015
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.
A win on rental standards
This is a good example of a policy win from opposition. More please!
The Canterbury rebuild
The Canterbury Rebuild grinds on with news that CERA is to be replaced by a new entity dubbed Regenerate Canterbury. But is a name change all that is required?
NRT: No democracy for Canterbury
I/S at No Right Turn on the continued suspension of democracy in Canterbury, and the Nats’ dump of their proposed “transition plan” under cover of the ABvSamoa game yesterday.
Happy 99th birthday Labour
Happy 99th birthday to the Labour Party!
Rashbrooke on poverty in NZ and UK
Max Rashbrooke has a major article in The Guardian today looking at poverty in NZ and the UK, and what each country can learn from the other.
Open mike 09/07/2015
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Daily Review 08/07/2015
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.
The surplusgoround
The on again off again surplus is on again. Key will be kicking himself for telling us all that we’re not interested in this artificial target.
Christchurch needs blankets
A Christchurch blanket bank has run out of blankets, in this the “seventh year of the brighter future”…
Emissions targets an admission that we don’t care
The emissions reduction target decided by the Nat government is an admission that we as a country don’t give a stuff about the future.
Slash Greek debt now!
Europe must agree to slashing Greece’s debt so that economic growth can begin again. Germany should understand this better than most.
Open mike 08/07/2015
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Daily Review 07/07/2015
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.
Deconstructing the government’s report card
The government has awarded itself a nice report card. Let’s take a closer look.
Common People; Yanis Varoufakis is all Class.
The Greek Finance minister has unexpectedly quit. He had already said he would resign if the referendum was lost; nobody expected that he would go after such a stunning win. But it was the strategically correct thing to do. Why can’t some of the veterans in the NZ Labour Party take the hint?
Police using “sealed” Hager documents?
Nicky Hager’s lawyer claims that the police are using supposedly “sealed” information taken in the raid of Hager’s home.
Open mike 07/07/2015
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Lets restrain those damnfool knights eh?
“THE struggle has been long and arduous. But gazing across the battered economies of the rich world it is time to declare that the fight against financial chaos and deflation is won. In 2015, the IMF says, for the first time since 2007 every advanced economy will expand.”. But lets restrain the damn fool ideological idiots from screwing it up. Like Bill English and his damn stupid taxcuts…
Daily Review 06/07/2015
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An idea that could catch on
Bill English’s groundhog decades
Bill English is a strange denizen of National’s Wellington groundhog set. He keeps repeating the wet dreams that have been tried three times now and come up as failures each time. On Q&A yesterday he played with some silly numbers about dairy, ignoring the damage that it and National’s obsessive focus on the past has done on the resilience of our export economy.
School lunches – Key vs data
Key claimed that the number of hungry kids in schools was limited to “the odd one or two”. Everyone knew it was nonsense. Now a survey by the New Zealand Principals’ Federation indicates the true extent of the problem.
Open mike 06/07/2015
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The Greek referendum
Update: the No vote is predicted to win a resounding victory with 61% support of the total valid vote.
Toil and Trouble.
In the hope of some informed comment…
Greenpeace activism
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.
What is it with Herald Gossip Columnists?
Another Herald Gossip Columnist has managed to land herself in hot water this week.
Open mike 05/07/2015
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Where is The Herald’s apology to Amanda Bailey?
The Press Council found that The Herald had fell “sadly short” of professional standards. Under the circumstances simply publishing the decision is not enough. NZ Herald – where is your apology to Amanda Bailey?
That one time Government almost did something decent for workers
There was this one time when the Government understood that workers coming into NZ to help rebuild Christchurch were very vulnerable to exploitation.