CGT Now!
The “tradeable” sector is still shrinking. The property market is heating up again. We need a capital gains tax now.
John Key, the jobs fairy
Remember when John Key promised 4,000 new jobs from the cycleway and, in fact, a few hundred, short-term, part-time positions were created? Remember when John Key promised 170,000 new jobs and unemployment went up instead? Looks like Key’s being making it up on the pokies-for-convention centre deal too, which would create only a fraction of the jobs promised.
Open mike 05/06/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
One law for some
Financially troubled private school Wanganui Collegiate received a $3million grant in Budget 2012, 3 times the annual operating grant of the larger Wanganui City College. Since then it has been advertising its low class sizes and ability to reduce fees significantly. Private schools will no doubt be using the current outrage over increased class sizes for recruiting purposes, but they should not be doing it with taxpayers’ money.
Greens going mainstream
The Greens have singled out Key and Bennett for scathing personal criticism. Another sign that The Greens are becoming a mainstream political party? Can’t argue with the results, but I must admit that I find it all faintly depressing.
Out of order
I’m not a big fan of the whole honours system, with or without knighthoods. But if you’re going to have it, make it […]
There is no alternative?
We all know National is on a record borrowing binge. But when they say they need to slash education investment to balance the […]
Open mike 04/06/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Sunday reading
Last week I put up some Sunday reading – longer, thoughtful pieces I’d found. I liked that other people also put up their links, with some very interesting topics. So I thought I might make it a regular feature. I’d put up a couple of interesting things that I’d come across in the week, and other people could share their links.
The politics of reproduction
The Nats have a thoroughly unhealthy obsession with the politics of reproduction. They’re talking about “stopping ‘unfit’ parents reproducing”, but Paula Bennet let slip the real agenda months ago.
Emmerson: Larger classes
Open mike 03/06/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Protest in the smartphone age
There’s a lot of analogy between how a guerrilla movement succeeds against a superpower or a state in the era of mass communication and how protest movements can do the same. Unable to win head-on, losing becomes winning as long as the cameras are rolling. It’s about being seen as having a legitimate cause and just as importantly being seen as the victims of disproportionate force and abuse of power.
Police fail to incite riot
The police have a number of different strategies for dealing with protest marches. Each has its own known likely result and the police […]
Parata to change careers?
Hekia Parata this week became the fourth minister in three months to see her career reduced to tatters. Looks like she’s planning a change.
Class sizes don’t matter?
Open mike 02/06/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Abbott does a runner
Tony Abbott fled from the Australian Parliament on Wednesday. He was trying to avoid his vote being recorded if newly independent Craig Thompson supported the Coalition on a closure motion. Running away won’t help Abbott whose numbers are at record lows as Labor improves. Instead of a leadership spill in Labor we could see one in the Coalition.
Lessons from Greece
Update 6.45pm: One of lawyers acting for those arrested has just been told by police that everyone arrested will be released without charge in the next couple of hours. That excludes 4 people who have refused to cooperate, presumably by refusing to give their details to police.
Update 9:09pm: John Darroch’s photos from today.
ImperatorFish: Key’s Secret Super Plans
Why does John Key appear so confident that we are not facing a future superannuation crisis? It seems unlikely that the government would allow a cull of the elderly, due to the usual complaints from liberal hand-wringers. So where are the solutions to the problems caused by an ageing population?
Weekend social 01/06/2012
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 beam in your eye
A tattered few on the Right are attempting to stir up an issue over the Greens using a bit of their leaders’ office budget on the citizens’-initiated referendum petition. The use of the $78,000 is completely within the rules and approved by the Speaker. The Greens, and the coalition, are helping us to keep our assets. Meanwhile, the Nats have budgeted $120 million to sell them. Who’s in the wrong?
Electric cars will save us all
You know how, whenever someone points out that spending $12 billion on highways that make no economic sense makes even less sense when you consider that people are driving less because of the price of petrol and will only reduce their driving more in the face of even higher petrol prices, some idiot says ‘we’ll just invent alternatives, drive electric!’. Yeah, it ain’t happening.
Selective memory
Things Key can’t remember: Position on Springbok tour: subject of mass protests under his idol, Muldoon. Position on the anti-nuclear issue: cornerstone policy of 4th Labour government, also triggered the schnapps election that brought down his hero. Things Key can remember: Never claiming the child tax rebate for his paper-run. Which is true because the rebate wasn’t introduced until Key was 17.
Retail Deposit Guarantee: When’s the enquiry?
Labour are pushing for an enquiry into how Treasury oversight of the Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme was so poor that it has cost us hundreds of millions of dollars. Bill English can’t be allowed to hide this under the plus Treasury carpet, so his lack of oversight of Treasury isn’t shown up.
Call off the education cuts
National has no choice but to call off the education cuts. The sooner they do it the sooner it will stop killing them in the court of public opinion.
Open mike 01/06/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Polly Parata
Hekia Parata is demonstrating how political lines endlessly repeated can go horribly wrong if you have nothing else to say. Her Polly Parrot repetitions are wrongly-based, and the longer she and Key go on about how fewer teachers and larger classes is going to improve the quality of teaching the worse its going to get for National. The hubristic Parata has galvanised and united the education sector and more backdowns are likely, both in policy and politics.
MMP Review: Last Day
Today is the last day for submissions to the MMP Review.
If you haven’t done so yet, make sure your have your say – it only takes 5 minutes for the short submission.
Another shaming poverty report for the government to ignore
Here’s a prediction for you – the Nats will ignore this report too. They’re not particularly interested in the issue of kids in poverty.
Banks’ vote protects him from Jones-like accountability
Labour’s got its Auditor-General inquiry into Jones’ approval of Yan’s citizenship. We’ve seen this movie before. In a year, the report will recommend better procedures but nothing more. Jone will be reinstated. The politics is more important. Shearer’s shown he has the power to control his senior MPs and set a high standard of accountability. When will Key match that standard and stand down Banks?
Great (Tom) Scott!
Collins rates her reputation worthless
Judith Collins has tried to go for a lower bar in her defamation suit against Andrew Little and Trevor Mallard to get it over with quicker. But asking for a declaration, rather than damages, doesn’t reduce the legal test. There’s just no way Collins is going to be able to show she was legally defamed, let alone rebuff the defences Little and Mallard have.
Key’s future gets shorter
Budgets allocate money not just for 1 year, but for the next 4. When National says its putting $511m into education, that’s actually $128m a year over 4 years (less than inflation). So, it stands out like a sore thumb that National has promised to limit teacher loses at 2 per school for only 3 years. After that? Seems like Key doesn’t expect it’ll be his problem.
Open mike 31/05/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
National’s war on the deficit – 2015
