It doesn’t suit the Labour Party narrative – and indeed it’s not their espoused philosophy – but every now and then National can’t help but be “hands on”. We’ve had the South Canterbury Finances in the past (won’t somebody think of the shareholders!), but this week was a real doozy for it, between Fonterra, Tiwai Point and Chorus.
The stupidity of Phil Goff’s misogynist taunting of Chris Finlayson has been compounded by his refusal to apologise.
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. Last week CPAG published a report on the links between poverty and child abuse, and why current government policy is misguided. So what did the first part of the report have to say?
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Note also that Campbell Live/3 News is running a major poll on the Bill.
John Key is a bully who uses the powers of his office inappropriately. Every now and then someone calls him on it – Mike Joy, Jon Stephenson, Andrea Vance and Bradley Ambrose being examples. Now it is the turn of Law Society member Rodney Harrison QC to stand up.
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
The Governments attack on workers pay seems even more nasty given the stats released this week that show wages stagnating as prices increase […]
Stuff’s Pattrick Smellie makes the case that the Fonterra scandal is a product of deregulation. The lesson here is that Mike Joy and other scientists are right. To protect its environment, its brand, its exports and its economy, NZ needs to strengthen regulatory protections and clean up its act.
Yesterday John Key gave $30 Million of tax payer’s money to Rio Tinto in order to prop up its electricity deal with Meridian – and thus to prop up his privatisation ideology. Mighty River Power shares took a hit. Smart investors getting out?
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Another good policy announcement from David Shearer.
Brand Key – CEO of NZ Inc, speculator, gambler, spinmeister – epitomises the “neoliberal revolution”. Gambling & other consumerist addictions are blamed on the individual. A court case against SkyCity shows the contradictory links between gambling, smoking, corporate influence & “insatiable consumerism.”
John Key just spent another $30 Million of tax payer’s money to prop up his privatisation ideology.
“He is completely and utterly wrong as per normal,” Mr Key said. – The PM responds to Winston Peters’ allegations that the Police considered seizing his phone records in Key’s teapot tape witch-hunt with his usual sophistication and class. Key’s comments raise an important question: ‘would Key have in his government a man who is normally “completely and utterly wrong?’
In an otherwise typically dull piece in The Herald recently, Bob Jones finished up with a typically blunt assessment of the impact of Labour and National governments on the economy. It seems that Jones can acknowledge the truth that most right-wingers try and deny.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Winston Peters has claimed in Parliament that the Police wanted to seize his telephone records because someone with a NZ First tshirt was outside the venue of the infamous Teapot tape incident. And Key’s office wanted to be kept in the loop. If true this another worrying attack on our rights of privacy by the state.
So the economic data is out and unemployment is up and wages are flat – the lowest rate of wage increase since 2010. 45% of employees didn’t get a pay rise.
The reason the stats overall aren’t worse is the big increase in employment in Canterbury, as the government relies on an earthquake-led recovery. The number of unemployed is still up 46% since National took office. That’s 48,000 Kiwis who would rather be working.
Still waiting for that Brighter FutureTM.
The debates during last night’s filibuster if the GCSB amendment Bill exposed the hypocrisy of John Key, and hangers on Peter Dunne and John Banks: as seen in the videos of the speeches by Goff, Cunliffe and Peters.
Yesterday Opposition parties filibustered, and successfully delayed the passage of the Key-Dunne spying Bill. This buys more time to protest, and to put pressure on MPs.
We have never before seen in New Zealand such a broad and ongoing chorus of opposition to government legislation as we are seeing with this Bill. Just yesterday alone…
The government selling off prime real estate to the governing party. It sounds like something out of a banana republic. But it’s here. The National Party (via several fronts) has bought the former Prime Ministerial/ministerial residence at 41 Pipitea St from the Crown. Peters says there should have been an auction. Not far enough. National should never have put up itself on both sides of a property deal. It’s dodgy as hell.
There’s a Guardian-led campaign in the UK at the moment over “zero-hour contracts” – contracts that guarantee an employee no hours, and often leave them on-call at a moment’s notice to fulfil the employers whim. They’re common here, but I don’t expect a major newspaper to run with it…
600,000 comments is getting pretty large. Even more disturbingly we are almost exactly on Eddie’s predictions of getting to a million comments by the August 2015 – in a exponential growth curve. While the numbers of posts per month aren’t changing that much, the numbers of comments per post have risen to average 75 per post. I have some charts and a bit of personal philosophy on what it all means…
We’re living a lie in New Zealand. We tell ourselves and we tell the world that we’re this amazingly environmentally conscious and sustainable country when, in fact, we’ve turned most of it into a giant farm, most of the rivers are unsafe to swim due to the farm run-off, and it would be worse, we just haven’t had the time. The Fonterra scandal may be the final straw for the 100% Pure slogan.
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A timely press release from the Law Society. The revisions to the GCSB Bill “do not address the fundamental flaws in the bill and the legislation should not proceed”. Peter Dunne, your last fig-leaf is ripped away. Please do not vote for this travesty.
The GCSB bill is due to be debated in Parliament this afternoon. It appears that the Government will have the numbers to pass the Bill but what will be of interest will be the linguistic somersaults Key will engage in to show why he should be allowed to strongly defend his own rights of privacy but trash Andrea Vance’s rights and Dunne will engage in to show that there is a principle at stake when he protects his rights of privacy but there is no need to protect our rights of privacy if the price is right.
The world has become a very strange place when NZ is getting lectured by China. Problem is, they aren’t wrong.
Now we learn that another Key enquiry spied on “teapot tape” reporter Bradley Ambrose. This government under John Key does not use its spying powers competently or appropriately. There is no guarantee that some future government will not be even worse. The Key-Dunne spying Bill should be rejected pending a proper enquiry and proper safeguards. Peter Dunne, please take note.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Rupert’s at it again. The Murdoch media were vicious in their pursuit of Gillard but it wasn’t personal. Now they’re after Rudd. And with Rudd as well, it isn’t personal or even political, it’s business as usual. Content download on high-quality broadband is the main threat to pay tv, and Labor’s NBN is perceived as worse for Murdoch’s SkyTV than the Coalition’s version.
Schadenfreude.
First they came for……………….
Campbell Live last Wednesday focused on transport: funding & Auckland versus the regions; public transport & roads; the revolutionary Congestion Free Network plan. City Vision (supported by Labour & the Green Party – with a major focus on transport) & 2 Future West candidates launch their Auckland council campaigns.
The information on which products are at risk from the Fonterra botulism scare has taken far too long to come out. Thanks 3 News for this list.
