What a craven cave-in. Lobbied by big booze, Collins has given in. Alco-pops will be left to the industry to regulate. It’s not a good look. Key wants to give the pokie industry free rein, and Collins wants to give the booze industry free rein, which means more families suffer, and more hospitals are overrun. As leaders they both get a fail.
David Shearer talks poverty, education, and Afghanistan.
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Waitangi Tribunal says Government must halt asset sales until Treaty issues sorted, and Tom Scott gives a progress report. National’s wheels are coming off.
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David Shearer is right. The rise in inequality under National, shown by the latest Household Incomes report from MSD, is a bloody disgrace. Good on Shearer for his robust and instinctive response. Now we look forward to seeing it reflected in the outcomes from the policy work that is going on behind the scenes.
The excellent Andrew Geddis at Pundit has an interesting post up this morning. You should head on over there and check it out. Here are a couple of extracts to get you started…
The Cancer-mongers’ ad campaign is complete crap. Ineffectual ads that won’t get anyone on side. Doesn’t matter though. They’re not aiming to convince you with the ads themselves. The actual aim’s to put a few hundred thousand dollars in media outlets’ pockets with the promise of more for favourable coverage. The Herald made it a bit blatant though – running a fawning editorial the day after the first full-page ad.
The Government has injuncted* RNZ from running a story based on a leaked Kiwirail document that shows National’s under-investment in Kiwirail will make the tracks more dangerous and less useable at a time when it is firing 200 maintenance staff. Brownlee’s excuse? “the media outlet that wanted to publish an opinion about that document was going to do so in a most irresponsible way”
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On The Nation last weekend Joyce insisted he was busy talking to business about export growth; he obviously wasn’t listening, as exporters’ number one problem is our over-valued and highly speculated exchange rate. He called Labour’s fresh approach to this problem “voodoo economics.” Switzerland, Singapore and Denmark? This week David Cunliffe will be on the Nation showing that the Labour economic team are alive to new ideas needed.
Crossing the line is an occupational hazard of public political comment. Especially when you set yourself up as an edgy persona. Fortunately, there’s a warning system. You think you’re being clever, but the animal part of your brain feels its wrong- it’s that burning feeling in the back of your neck. Next time, Trev, feel the burn.
The exodus to Australia is at record levels. Falling wages have seen social inequality rise to record levels. Good job National.
Key owes it to the families to provide them with an explanation as to what purpose remaining in Afghanistan serves.
Deborah Russell’s piece in the Dominion Post sets out some constructive thoughts on welfare.
The Nats’ asset sales are beset at all sides. The companies aren’t ready for sale. Their future revenue is too uncertain to attract investors. The Government would end up with more debt not less. New, hidden, fiscal costs keep on coming to light. Few New Zealanders want to buy the shares. Over 200,000 have signed a petition against the sales.
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I/S at No Right Turn on Key’s made up numbers.
It makes no sense to sell the assets National want to sell. But the particular economic cases just keep getting worse. This week it appears things went disastrous. Now we wonder what’s left to sell? Or will it be a firesale against a back-drop of the courts? And why won’t they face the public over what’s happening?
A press release that is well worth reprinting verbatim. The Green parties of NZ, Australia and Canada speak out about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).
The Nats are admitting the wheels are coming of their asset sales programme. Solid Energy’s revenue is in free-fall. So is AirNZ’s. Nobody can predict the impact the water rights issue will have on the power companies. And Meridian is playing chicken with its main customer, the country’s largest energy consumer.
You have to remember sometimes that Steven Joyce’s introduction to politics was as a campaign strategist. That explains why he is still obsessed with style over substance. He’s released the second of six glossy publications from his new Mobie super-ministry. Like the previous one – like the decision to form the super-ministry – there’s no meat behind it: the point is merely to appear busy.
Z has set a new record for petrol prices with 91 up to $2.23. The others are expected to follow. We are in a new oil shock due to peak oil. The once unimaginable $2 a litre is now the low price. Ironically, the high dollar that is killing our exporters is protecting us from much higher petrol prices. So why is our government investing $12 billion on deepening our oil addiction?
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Decile ratings of schools are to be dropped from ERO reports because they are “confusing” and “unfair” and lead to “white flight”. Unlike, say, ropey national standards data. Uh huh.
So, a pre-planned trip to watch a son’s baseball and a week’s holiday in the States is more important than attending 2 soldiers’ funerals. But attending 3 soldiers’ funerals outranks attending the Pacific Island Forum attended by the region’s leaders. A question for the reader: how many Little League games beats a pull aside with Julia Gillard on boat people?
It was standing room only in Auckland last night with over 200 people packed into the Polish Society clubrooms to hear David Parker deliver a very positive message on Labour’s economic policy. Labour’s Auckland organisation is also getting into good shape. And there is more to come. Watch this space.
Compare the latest figures on CEO pay to the median income of New Zealanders and to the minimum wage. The average CEO gets 10 times the pay of a full-time minimum wage worker or the income of the typical Kiwi. The gap is growing. The CEO pay increase was 26 times the median income increase, 56 times what a full-time minimum wage earner got. Does anyone think this is a recipe for a happy and successful New Zealand?
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There are just short of 630,000 people aged 20-29. A net 33,000 of them have left for Australia under National – 13,000 in the last year. That’s twice the rate of emigration under Labour. There’s also twice as many unemployed in this age group – 46,000. That’s 1 in 8 of our youngest generation of workers either leaving for Aussie or unemployed under National.
Reprinted with permission from Dave Kennedy (bsprout) at Local Bodies – a very depressing list.
Structural discrimination is alive and well in NZ. It makes nonsense of all the right-wing “one law for all” and beneficiary bashing rhetoric.
3 New Zealand soldiers have been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. 5 dead in a fortnight. That’s a big cost. All in the same area of Bamiyan Province. John Key has used American chickenhawk language saying “we won’t cut and run”. Actually, we’re leaving in 2013 anyway. The question is whether its worth the cost of hanging around another year.
The media is reporting that three more Kiwi soldiers have been killed in a bomb attack in Afghanistan.
Our hearts go out to their family and friends.
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Ecuador is giving us lessons in sovereign independence.
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