Open mike 30/10/13
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John Key admits National Government failed to properly monitor Solid Energy
John Key has just admitted that Ministerial and Treasury oversight of Solid Energy was not up to scratch but suggests that external analysis would have provided a lot more accountability. Oddly enough I had always thought that it was the job of the relevant Ministers and their advisors to provide oversight. And he has hinted at the privatisation of TVNZ and NZ Post …
On the waterfront: art & politics
Auckland authorities disrespected past worker struggles in allowing an art work on the waterfront, that commemorates the ruthless suppression of the 1913 strike. After protests, it has now been covered. Time for the many to unite for fairness at work & in daily living!
Outsourcing poverty: Paula Bennett’s shame
A charity is taking on the funding of the essential work on monitoring poverty, in the face of Paula Bennett, Bill English and John Key et al failing to do their job: a return to Dickensian & Edwardian times.
Open mike 29/10/13
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Happy Labour Day
From the movement that brought you equal pay, the weekend, minimum wages, child protection laws, injury prevention, the right to organise …
The only response needed
The final Fairfax poll before the last election had National on 54%.
Update: the Colmar-Brunton poll today directly contradicts the Fairfax poll despite being taken on the same days.
NSA: ‘full spectrum dominance’
Latest revelations about the NSA’s international surveillance show it is about “full spectrum dominance” of military, economic, business and political activities. The TICS Bill is the latest part of Key’s changes to NZ’s surveillance agencies, further enabling the US government dominance via NSA, especially in business & politics.
National’s civil war continues
Matthew Hooton said this week that Cameron Slater should put up or shut up. Slater then promised explosive new revelations in the SST and the Herald today. As detailed by Karol in her post The Blame Game the revelations were, but I suspect not in the way that Slater had hoped for. Because he has succeeded beyond what I thought would be possible in converting a story about a a philandering mayor into a story of how forces on the right tried to usurp the democratic choice of Aucklanders.
Open mike 28/10/2013
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The Blame Game
And so it continues. Inside the Palino-Wewege-Cook-Slater camp, every one is pointing the finger at everyone else and putting the blame elsewhere for the clumsily executed smear campaign against Len Brown. Got to wonder who is in the shadows frantically pulling various levers?
Is society collapse and inequality linked?
US mathematician Peter Turchin believes that mathematics can predict events such as the recent constitutional crisis in America and has constructed a model based on social and economic data that he believes predicts periods of instability and disaster for nations. This work shows the negative side of inequality and neatly compliments the work of Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett in the Spirit Level that showed the benefits of increased equality.
Open mike 27/10/2013
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What’s in a glance?
David Jones QC argues Banks could not have signed a false declaration of election donations because he did not read it. But Banks’ campaign manager’s evidence was that Banks “glanced at it before signing it.” The Oxford dictionary defines “glance” as “take a quick or hurried look;” “read quickly or cursorily.” So Banks did read the donations return. It would have been hard to miss the $15,690 recorded as both a radio expense and an anonymous donation which he had personally solicited.
National’s failed asset sales
Two-term panic gripping the rightwing punditry
John Armstrong, Tracy Watkins, and Fran O’Sullivan all write today about National’s plunging polls and the growing likelihood that this will be the first two-term National government. They take different approaches – Armstrong: there’s nothing for Key to worry about, Watkins: there was a problem but the tide’s turning back, O’Sullivan: yeah, Key’s fucked.
Open mike 26/10/2013
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Mana Party and Maori Party to commence discussions
The Maori Party has accepted an invitation extended by the Mana Party to enter into discussions on how they can work together on a kaupapa by kaupapa basis. Is this a further threat to National’s parliamentary majority?
Lucy Lawless to Steven Joyce: ‘U killed NZ film industry’
NZ needs government legislation & financial support to maintain local screen productions. Steven Joyce makes some hollow noises about prioritising NZ-focused productions, while allowing the Auckland industry to decline. Lucy Lawless blames Joyce for NZ Film tax rebates & prioritising BIG Oil.
Asset sales: Key’s scorched earth tactics will backfire
Granny supported little Johnny’s plan to go off to market and sell the family’s cash cow. But even she’s furious that what he’s come back with amounts to nothing more than a hill of beans. As Granny Herald notes, the Nats’ determination to push ahead with the remaining sales regardless is all about ideology, and the knowledge that they’re going to lose the next election.
The English are also selling their assets cheaply
Meridian’s share price appears to be under value and will no doubt ensure that shareholders reap an early bonus. With a rate of return of over 10% for the first year you have to wonder what economic genius decided to sell shares to pay down debt with an interest rate of half that amount.
Over in the UK the tories there have engaged in a similar exercise where Royal Mail was sold under value and shareholders watched as their shares went up in value by over 60% in a month.
I wonder if Key and English have been receiving lessons from the Tories?
Open mike 25/10/2013
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NZ’s struggling screen industry
The NZ screen industry is in a precarious state, unable to compete with incentives in other countries to attract the crums from Hollywood productions, impacted by the currency high dollar rate. Innovative ideas needed for an independent NZ industry, linked with public broadcasting TV & online viewing. [Updated: Maori TV & Barry Barclay]
The Meridian flop
National’s trying to blame it on Labour and the Greens for the Meridian sale flop, which attracted only a quarter of the expected ‘mums and dads’ (rich ‘mums and dads’ who put in $18k each). But let’s just get this straight: the decision to sell was National’s. If they don’t think they’re getting the price that they should for the sales, then they should stop them.
Open mike 24/10/2013
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Government in trouble over Meridian Float
The Government has announced the results of the Meridian Share float and the results are all bad. The country will receive up to $1.1 billion less than the shares were worth in 2011 and overseas entities will own 13% of the shares. Remind me why we are selling the shares ?
SkyCity deal gets sleazier
It raised a few eyebrows when the Catholic Church appeared to back the SkyCity deal. Seamus Donegan appeared before the select committee for the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, saying they couldn’t find a link between pokies and problem gambling. Turns out that Donegan’s submission was the opposite of the Commission’s real position, and he’s National MP Sam Lotu-Iiga’s electorate chair.
Quote of the day: “Atlas shrugs off climate change”
Kennedy Graham’s post on NZ’s appalling record on climate change: ‘Atlas shrugs off climate change – a New Zealand policy failure of monumental proportions‘, includes a great quote about Key shrugging in the face of his (and “neoliberalism”) failures. So apt.
What a major oil spill means for NZ
Greenpeace has released scientific modelling of what would happen if a major oil well blowout (like Deepwater Horizon) were to occur at either of the sites were Anadarko is preparing to start deepwater drilling. It shows the dramatic size that a spill could reach, affecting beaches and fisheries. And, remember, our response force for such an event is three dinghies.
Fight you bastards fight
At least one MP if not the whole of National’s caucus knew that the news concerning Len Brown and Bevan Chuang would break soon eight days before it did. Slater’s and Palino’s claims are becoming more and more difficult to believe. And in a comment yesterday Bad12 sums up why this is such bad news for National.
Taking from the poor to pay the rich
In the same week the government announces a five million dollar gift to a yachting syndicate, Child Poverty Action Group has revealed that 13,000 of our poorest families have had their income slashed.
None so blind as those who invent their own reality
Is the Prime Minister John Key who claims to know what Labour has supposedly said in secret talks with SkyCity (talks that Cunliffe denies have happened) because it’s ‘all over town’ the same Prime Minister John Key who couldn’t be bothered to read a police report on one of his ministers who is now going to be tried for the offences investigated in said report? Asking for a friend.
Open mike 23/10/2013
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Fuck off, Bob Jones: and advertisers? Be warned
Bob Jones has produced another disgusting “opinion piece”, and the New Zealand Herald has once again been disgusting enough to publish it. I […]
Because it’s all about “me”
Cunliffe talked of moving from a “from a cost-based to a values-based” strategy. We need a new narrative: valuing all, including children of those on benefits; about long term benefits for all of less inequality & poverty, and more affordable housing & better public transport, & more.
“Do we want to play Russian roulette with two bullets or one?”
Lord Nicolas Stern, who wrote a ground-breaking report on the economic costs of climate change against the costs of stopping it (conclusion: stopping it is cheap compared to the cost of not), has changed his mind. Climate change is getting worse, faster, and heading to worse results than he thought. It’s no longer a matter of avoiding disaster, but how bad it gets.