LocalBodies: National Slumps in Polls As Ministers Struggle

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 22 comments

There is danger of reading too much into polls months out from an election. Commentators were claiming that National was too strong to lose the next election based on a rogue poll. Few looked at multiple polls, accounted for the margin of error nor the trends over past months. The last fortnight has seen a National with the latest Roy Morgan Poll plummeting from the Colmar Brunton result of 51% to 45.5%. And it is based on a lack of ministerial performance…

A bunch of 14 year olds show up Tony Abbott

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 17 comments

Recently Australian PM Tony Abbott decided to speak to a group of 14 year olds who were visiting Parliament. Unluckily for him this particular group of 14 year olds were very sophisticated and asked him a series of questions which neatly skewered four of his main policy positions.

NRT: One way of fixing it

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 3 comments

No Right Turn looks at one reason why Yahoo moved from the UK to Dublin. Escaping the ubiquitous and ever increasing surveillance requirements of paranoid security agencies who appear to only be interested in protecting elites rather than citizens. As it is, it is preferable to site site servers offshore away from silly unenforceable laws. They’ll just go to locations that offer the best server security.

Corporates for TPP

Written By: karol
Date published: - 47 comments

Big (US) Pharma has been the leading lobbyist that has shaped the TPP, followed by corporates in the following industries; Hollywood, automobile, textiles, dairy. This makes the TPP a major threat to the interests and well-being of Kiwis. Good reasons to take part in next Saturday’s Day Of Action (29 March 1pm) across NZ.

his precious $

Written By: geoff
Date published: - 41 comments

As reported on TV3 news a few nights ago, John Key said that “I have a very strong sense of how precious children […]

And now for the real news…

Written By: karol
Date published: - 15 comments

“Rockstar economy”?   Let’s hear it for another chorus of,”There is no depression in New Zealand”!  Demographia reports on absolute food and housing poverty for too many Kiwis.  Simon Collins reports on the ethnic inequality gaps & high rates of Maori imprisonment.

NRT: A good idea from NZFirst

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 4 comments

From an environmental economics perspective, mining is a wealth transfer, shifting public wealth (minerals) into private profits of mining companies. Along the way, it creates jobs, but it is basically spending capital. When the resources run out or become unprofitable to extract the jobs disappear and a regional economy geared solely to resource extraction withers and dies. NZ First wants to change that.

Warm, dry homes – let’s just do it

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 100 comments

Making sure every rental property is a warm, dry home should be a no-brainer in the 21st century.  Parliament will shortly get the chance to vote on my Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill.  The vote will sort the parties for whom this is a genuine belief from those who just pay it lip service.

What use is oil extraction here?

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 26 comments

One of the more irritating traits of National politicians is their bone-headed and short-term obsession about being rentiers selling raw and lightly processed […]

Taiwan

Written By: Bill
Date published: - 9 comments

Taiwanese legislature occupied. Could be news…

Polity: Losing count of Judith’s lies

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 58 comments

“Justice Minister Judith Collins’ “cup of tea on the way to the airport” at her friend Stone Shi’s company in Shanghai involved a 30km detour in the opposite direction…”. That’s pretty embarrassing for Collins. Caught, red-handed, again, lying in the Parliament and misleading your boss. I wonder what he will do now?

LocalBodies: Gerry Brownlee, Making Stuff Up Again!

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 35 comments

The crazy thing about Gerry Brownlee is that he is so incompetent because he never seems to study anything that he is responsible for. On Monday, Local Bodies wrote about his current burst of illiterate and untutored whining and blowhard posturing about roads. And yet people on the inside of the National party appear to rate him? What does that say about their competence?

NRT: Climate change: War, disease, and famine

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 38 comments

The biggest single threat to civilisation from human initiated CO2 forced climate change is going to be in food production and distribution. In a leaked version of the IPCC’s AR5 second volume ” the report predicts that climate change will reduce median crop yields by 2 per cent per decade for the rest of the century – at a time of rapidly growing demand for food.”

Amy Adams has more explaining to do

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 12 comments

Further questions have arisen about Amy Adams’ involvement with decisions relating to Canterbury water and in particular the decision to extend the term of the existing commissioners.

Out of the Loop

Written By: geoff
Date published: - 155 comments

As I’ve previously pointed out, John Key’s National government only serves the privileged elite.

But their policy of only favouring the favoured few is not only venal, it’s really stupid economics as well.

NRT: An economic upgrade?

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 60 comments

No Right Turn reacts to David Cunliffe’s speech on Friday. “…one thing is clear: we need to move our economy away from a focus on milk. Our environment can’t sustain it, and its not delivering for anyone other than a narrow class of wealthy farmers.” “… rich economies have multiple sources of income. And they consciously develop them through industrial policy.”

Closing the Gaps – Education & work

Written By: karol
Date published: - 8 comments

Simon Collins article on reducing inequalities for Māori & Pacific people. Māori and Pacific youth have become significantly disadvantaged in employment.  However, the article supports charter schools, without examining how such neoliberal intitatives are ultimately damaging for Māori & Pacific people.

Hekia Parata wants to punish poor schools

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 46 comments

Yesterday Hekia Parata floated the idea that funding of schools should be based on measuring the periodic change in academic standards.  This is a retrograde proposal which almost inevitably would penalise poor schools and worsen educational standards for many.  Today she has been trying to dampen down the idea and has emphasised that it will not be considered until after the next election.  A better reason to vote this Government out I cannot imagine.

Open mike 17/03/2014

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 180 comments

Happy Saint Patrick’s day. 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 …

Tony Abbott is an idiot

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 90 comments

Tony Abbott’s Liberal Government has acted to undermine New Zealand’s push for a United Nations declaration that it is in the interest of humanity that nuclear weapons never be used again under any circumstances.  Having the option of killing millions of human beings and devastating major urban centres either by way of a first strike or a retaliatory strike is obviously something he thinks should be preserved.