Unity and democracy
With a new leadership race there’s now a real chance to bring the Labour party together to fight the good fight against the right.
No time for experiments
We all knew David Shearer was a good guy and he’s just proved how good – and noble – a man he is […]
Big announcement at 1:30 … Shearer stands down as leader
It is confirmed that David Shearer has announced that he will stand down as Labour’s leader after a new leader is selected. The leadership will now be decided under the Party’s constitution.
Collins & Key go head to head over Henry Inquiry
Judith Collins is making a play for support among her fellow National ministers and trying to turn them against Key following Key’s contemptuous attitude to their privacy in the Henry Inquiry. At the Privileges Committee hearing into the Henry Inquiry yesterday, Collins and sidekick Anne Tolley asked why Henry thought he could look at their emails without their permission. Why indeed.
David Bennett’s successor?
Rumour has it that David Bennett has decided to retire at the next election. It’s been made clear to him that he’ll never be allowed anywhere near a ministerial portfolio. Who will take on his role? Well, how about this guy – Mark Sabin – who yesterday told Parliament that, thanks to St Key, New Zealand has the highest growth rate on Earth, when it’s actually 117th?
Disgusting
Chris Finalyson’s contribution to the GCSB debate yesterday was a strong reminder that the job description for National MPs includes a requirement that they be rude and arrogant and a belief that they are somehow superior to the rest of us.
Hypocrite
“New Zealanders will not have
confidence in [a …] bill rammed through
by a slender majority without public support
and with the backing of only the bare minimum
of parties necessary to get it through Parliament.”
— John Key, 2007.
(ht Toby Manhire)
High jump and higher education – the fallacy of continuous improvement
They set targets and you meet those targets, so they raise the targets. You meet them again, so they raise them again. If those targets were high jump bars, everyone watching would know you are going to miss the target at some point. That is not a failure. That is just something that is eventually beyond the very limits of your ability. However, if you are a tertiary education teacher we pretend there is no limit.
Open mike 22/08/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Shame!
So the Key-Dunne spying Bill is now law. The privacy of your electronic communications now depends on the favour of an untrustworthy PM, and the best efforts of a legal system (much derided by said PM) in interpreting a confused mess of a law / Hansard record / letter to The Herald.
Shame shame shame on all those MPs who ignored the concerns of the people who elected them and passed this travesty.
If lawyers don’t understand the law…
Then it’s a bad law. Who does John Key think is going to interpret the GCSB law other than lawyers from the Law Commission, the Human Rights Tribunal, the Privacy Commissioner etc?
Bad law making – GCSB Bill
Grant Robertson & David Cunliffe explain how the GCSB Bill is bad law (especially section 8 & related sections). It doesn’t provide adequate oversight or safeguards against the wholesale spying on New Zealanders. A clarifying statement from the PM is not good law. Andrea Vance demystifies the Bill.
RIP Groklaw
Groklaw has been an inspirational blog for many with an interest in geekery or the law. I read it daily during the years of the SCO trial. PJ and her team were and are amazing. But now it’s over. Killed by the death of privacy, and the world that the Key-Dunne spying bill is bringing ever closer to NZ.
The innocent have nothing to fear?
It’s not just journos who should watch out if the GCSB Bill goes through. David Miranda, partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained by British police yesterday while in transit through London. All his electronic equipment was confiscated. After the nine hour limit was up this “terrorist” was released into Britain! All because his partner has been the journalist who wrote about Snowden’s revelations about internet surveillance by GCHQ, NSA, and GCSB.
When fear tactics backfire 2 – and GCSB roundup
John Key (the PM who has on multiple occasions overspent the budget on his own protection staff) really dug himself a hole when he accused opposition leaders of wanting to “run for the hills” in case of a terrorist attack. Not only did David Shearer get to remind him of the occasions that he has been under fire – and run to help – but now some other voices have chimed in too.
Cross the floor
Check out crossthefloor.co.nz (#crossthefloor) for a resource to send email or tweets to a shortlist of government MPS who just might discover their conscience, cross the floor, and kill the spying bill…
Key adds another $40m to the asset sales bill
We know that only 2.5% of Kiwis bought shares in Mighty River Power. English now talks of ‘tens of thousands’ buying Meridian shares. This ain’t no widespread ownership – it’s the few buying and the many losing ownership. So far, we’ve paid at least $100m for these sales. Yesterday, Key added $40m in interest-free loans to Meridian buyers.
Open mike 21/08/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Mighty Big Gamble on Mighty Big Gift
Hey John, how much public money are you going to pay the wealthy to “buy” our assets? (And how just desperate are you…?)
When fear tactics backfire
John Key’s fear tactics backfired badly when he tried to smear David Shearer…
GCSB- Questions?
John Key has been twisting himself out of shape answering questions about spying on New Zelanders by the GCSB under the GCSB amendment Bill that is currently before the House. [Update] Video Qu One & Three [Update] Qu 1 transcript.
Big gay rainbow
Is this a question buddy?
Yesterday Scoop’s Alastair Thompson started to ask John Key a really difficult question essentially about the unprecedented powers that Key is giving to the GCSB. Key responded by walking out of the post cabinet press conference. So much for being on top of his game. And last night’s Auckland Town Hall was a stunner. The Bill is due to be debated again today. If only a Government MP or Peter Dunne would develop some principles …
The voices of the GCSB protest
The Auckland Town Hall was full – nearly 2000 people – for the GCSB protest last night (with more people being turned away at the doors). Update – full video of the whole event (all speakers) is now up on YouTube. Meanwhile the Campbell Live poll had 89% of respondents opposed.
Roy Morgan bounces left
National 44 (down 7), Labour 34 (up 5), Greens 14 (up 4).
Open mike 20/08/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Be there – tonight
Final reminder of the pro-privacy anti-spying meeting tonight. Also worth noting in this context is Alastair Thompson’s excellent open letter to Peter Dunne. Read it. Will Dunne be a hero?
Would you trust this politician?
As inspired by Toby Manhire…
Plans to “wiretap” the net
The second of the weekend’s must-read pieces. This one is by Vikram Kumar (CEO of Mega) published in the NBR, on plans to require internet service providers to install a “backdoor for the government”.
Peak driving & what National’s doing with $12 billion of your money
National’s desperately racing to lock in Transmission Gully and the Puhoi to Wellsford Holiday Highway ahead of the election, in case they lose. Those two projects are nearly half of their $12 billion ‘roads of national significance’, 300km of roads costing an outrageous $40,000 per metre. Now, you would think if the Government was spending $12 billion, it would be to meet a growing demand. Think again.
Oram on Nats’ economic bungles
The first of two required reading pieces from the weekend. Financial journalist Rod Oram sums up the Nats economic performance in an excellent piece in the SST. “Is damage control an economic development strategy?”
Happy Marriage Equality Day
Open mike 19/08/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Will MPs have to take the test?
Paula Bennett wants to introduce a new regime that screens all government employees to stop child abuse.
MPs have a lot of interaction with children.
So will they be regularly screened? And if not, Why not?
Sunday Reading
My semi-regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere. This week: capitalism, fraud, Guantanamo, the internet, Geek Week and a naked-rights hiker.
Paula Bennett plans legislative witch hunt
Paula Bennett’s latest idea is to remove the rights of natural justice for state employees who do not take the proposed child abuser vetting test, even though the test has not even been designed. Even for Paula the stupidity of this idea is extreme …