The alcohol reforms miss the real issues and focuses on wowserism over teens drinking, instead. The Hospitality Association will be rubbing its hands at the split age suggestion. But there ins’t a growing problem with booze. Alcohol consumption is falling. 25 years ago, we consumed 140 litres of alcoholic beverages per person (including children!) per year. Today, that number is 105 litres.
How they voted, some wise words on the range of christian belief, and credit to John Key.
National, Banks, and Dunne voted to keep the door open for more asset sales yesterday. Clayton Cosgrove’s Bill would have required a super-majority in Parliament or a referendum to move more companies out of the SOE Act – a necessary step in the privatisation process. Dunne in particular has promised not to support further asset sales, yet given a chance to stop them, he refused.
Today MPs will have a conscience vote on the drinking age. But National won’t be moving on anything that will hurt the alcohol industry, even though action on price and advertising is what’s really needed to make a difference to New Zealand’s alcohol problem.
Update: And remain at 18 it is.
National has a line on child poverty to allow them to oppose actually doing anything: ‘Jobs! Jobs are the solution to poverty, not more assistance for poor kids. National is about jobs, not handouts! And we’ll get more jobs with mining!’ But their record doesn’t match the rhetoric … There are 65,000 more unemployed under National and hundreds of mining jobs are being lost.
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It’s Members Night in Parliament and the Marriage Equality Bill has passed its first reading. Future Asset Sales have not been entrenched however and National are currently arguing against raising the minimum wage.
Child Poverty Action Group is auctioning on Trade Me a set of three Tom Scott cartoons, originally drawn for the Inside Child Poverty documentary shown on TV3 last year just before the election. They would love you to be a part of it.
Gerry Brownlee has announced $12.3 billion of road spending over the next 3 years. Asset sales will pay for less than half of it. Does it really make sense to lose control of our strategic assets – with all the income they bring in – for just over 1 year’s worth of roads?
The Children’s Commissioner’s expert group has recommended that things must be done about Child Poverty, and made very specific suggestions as to what should be done, including a universal child payment for under 6s.
John Key’s response to the indepth analysis of a bunch of our finest minds and Phil O’Reilly: “Dopey.”
Bennett (playing the distraction card) is pushing her drug testing policy again. I have a question for the supporters of this policy which remains unanswered…
In Parliament yesterday, Metiria Turei challenged Key on his record on poverty, holding up a graph of the GINI index, showing the increase in inequality under National. Key nonsensically blamed the recession – why must it be that in a recession the poor get poorer while the rich still get richer? That’s a result of policy that protects the rich, not an inevitability.
If the Government still hasn’t decided whether to sell the assets, why is its stockbroker advertising them?
Could it be that the Nats’ consideration of the Tribunal’s findings is just a sham?
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A guest post from Carol on the Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group (EAG) report, to be released today. We need a sustainable destination, not a life raft. Update: The report is out.
Louisa Wall’s marriage equality bill comes before Parliament tomorrow – there’ll be a rally outside. It should pass comfortably. 61 MPs have said they’ll support it to at least first reading and only quarter of that number say they will oppose it. Many of the 30-odd undecideds will vote no but some will be voting ‘yes’. I think we’ll see about 70 votes in favour.
Two high-profile conscience votes are coming up in Parliament over the next two days. It will be interesting to see the breakdown of who votes which way on the issues. But the level of malice expressed by some of those opposed to marriage equality is disturbing.
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Depress turnout among low-income voters by changing the enrolment rules – it’s an old right-wing trick. The Republicans are doing it in the US – it looks like National may try it on here. They should not succeed.
Mitt Romney has hit a new low by adding fuel to the loony “birther” flames.
The Living Wage campaign is holding an event in Wellington on Thursday.
Remember how National’s excuse for cutting the top tax rate from 39% to align with the trust rate at 33% was that half of the rich were dodging the top tax rate – so, they should all get a tax cut. Tax cuts for tax cheats, it was called. And guess what? They’re still cheating. Only half of the ultra-rich are paying even that slashed 33% rate. When they cheat we pay with cut services, higher charges, and more government debt.
Remember the Ports of Auckland lock-out? The bosses tried to starve out 300 worker to push through contracting out, and ‘save’ $6m a year. The workers won. Now, PoAL has reported a $12m loss caused by the $33m cost of the lockout. So, the bosses spent $33m trying to get a $6m a year ‘saving’. Time the councils sacks the managers who wasted that money.
The Maori Party is meeting with National to discuss the Waitangi Tribunal’s report on water and asset sales today. Notice how no-one’s saying ‘will they walk if the Nats ignore the Tribunal and proceed to breach the Treaty?’ That’s what happens when you cry wolf then sell out time after time. Everyone knows Turia wants her comfy limo seat more than anything else.
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Like many people I’m always bemused by the lack of logic that the climate change deniers (CCD’s) have in their extremely selective picking of things to get wound up about – especially about climate models. But when an actual self-evident flaw shows up in the models, well they simply seem to miss it entirely. Like it is now evident that the climate models used to predict Arctic melting vastly underrate the speed at which it is happening. The consequences are going to be unpleasant for the north.
National’s asset sales programme is in crisis. Key has three options on asset sales – plow ahead, cut a deal with iwi, or call it quits. The smart thing to do, for the good of the country and for National’s own good, remains to drop the policy altogether. But they won’t. Instead, they’ll play the race card. But that old joker isn’t the trump it once was.
NZ is well served in the range of online offerings that are exploring beyond the fringes of the mainstream media. Welcome to a new player, Bernard Hickey’s JOURNALISM.ORG.NZ.
My 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 (no linkwhoring). This week: Rape, US attitudes to inequality, and, idle or vulnerable?
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Key’s claim that illegal euthanasia is happening in NZ has sparked outraged denials from medical professionals. But Key, of course, is not backing down. Once he’s opened his mouth he knows that he knows best.
David Parker got stuck in to the Nats last week, with a 30 page report that laid bare National’s appalling economic record, and presented an outline of Labour’s alternatives. Good work from Parker – everyone should read it.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
