Labour looks almost certain to oppose the Nats’ ‘fixit’ bill. The draft goes far further than previously thought. It doesn’t just try to suspend the effect of a specific Supreme Court decision in a violation of the separation of powers, it gives Police the power to spy on you without a warrant. Chris Finlayson should resign for even proposing such a heinous law.
It’s a bit of a worry that the PM seems to be clueless about the complexity and interdependence of the world economy. Bill English needs to take him aside and paint him a picture.
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Professor Robert Wade of the London School of Economics and author of the acclaimed Governing the Market will speak on this topic in association with Victoria University School of Government at Lecture Theatre 2, Rutherford House, Wellington at 6pm on Thursday 22nd September. Read more for abstract. Register at www.fabians.org.nz.
The Greens launched their economic policy today – I attended on behalf of the Fabian Society. Titled “100,000 green jobs for New Zealanders, it follows their plan to bring 100,000 children out of poverty by 2014. The focus was on leveraging green priorities, using direct government investment, changing the way state-owned companies work, and shifting the drivers for green jobs in the private sector.
Very, very funny. Where the fuck is Webb Ellis? hat tip: Trevor Mallard at Red Alert
Your Police knowingly acted illegally to spy on your fellow citizens. No-one’s saying those being surveilled are angels. It’s not about them. It’s about whether the agents of the State, who are ultimately meant to be your agents, should be allowed to act illegally. Should the ends justify the means or do we believe in the rule of law as the only way to constrain those with power from abusing it?
A guest post from Jarm Ohnstrong: I want to start this article with an apology. A couple of weeks ago, I attacked Labour for its criticism of National’s performance on the Christchurch rebuild while not having released its own recovery policy. That was unfair and petty. Now, Labour has released its policy. It’s deserving of the highest praise.
Economist Paul Krugman argues that governments the world over need to wake up to the fact that they’ve been trying to solve the wrong problem.
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NRT: “The Supreme Court ruled that covert video surveillance evidence against the Urewera 18 was inadmissible, because it had been obtained unlawfully. This was no surprise to the police; they had known that the use of such surveillance was unlawful, but had gone ahead and done it anyway.” Now, the government’s changing the law for them.
John Pagani has an excellent piece on the lack of National substance in the lead-up to this election.
Like last election we’re seeing Labour say what they would do, presenting one alternative, as National fail to present theirs; relying on that nice man John Key’s image over any policy substance.
Two news snippets yesterday seemed to me to capture the essence of John Key PM. First, his response to recommendations about super, and second his prognostications on the Christchurch insurance market.
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118 years to the day when NZ became the first country in the world to give women the vote. You can imagine how […]
We’re going to need a lot of innovation to survive the coming decades. Today’s innovation is a simple modification that at least doubles the energy output of a wind turbine. Brilliant.
Today Labour released another substantial policy, a plan for recovery in Christchurch. It’s a policy that works for ordinary people, and a much needed helping hand for displaced red-zone residents.
The Campaign for MMP has a series of vids that we’ll be running. This one looks at how MMP has lifted the representation of women in Parliament. Makes you wonder about the people who want to send us backwards. By the by, due the paucity of women on National and ACT’s lists, the next Parliament is likely be to be first since 1978 to see the number of women decrease.
The Press reports: “The Central Christchurch recovery is under threat as quake-weary property owners start using their insurance money to buy new buildings in Auckland and overseas.” Hmm. If only they had been repeatedly warned about this for the past seven months. Hopefully, we’ll see a real plan from Labour today.
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The horse bolted last weekend. Murray McCully has been hard at work on the stable door. But the rail passengers voted with their feet…
Why are the young so disengaged from the political process? 2011 is shaping up to be even worse than last election.
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From the miscellaneous bits of news department – a particularly grim Roy Morgan poll, and the announcement that Sue Bradford is standing for Mana against Paula Bennett in Waitakere.
The warnings on the economy are coming thick and fast now, both globally and nationally.
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Denmark has ended the 10-year reign of the right supported by the anti-immigration Muslim-baiting Danish People’s party. The Social Democrats headed by their first woman PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt will move away from the right’s favoured austerity and spending cuts to more investment in education, welfare and infrastructure. Austerity isn’t working in Britain, and Denmark is worth watching for all kinds of reasons.
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
When it comes to making any kind of effort to saving the planet from catastrophic climate change I guess being even a “fast follower” was just a little too ambitious for the Key government.
When the Nats say they must cut early childhood education funding – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.
When the Nats say they have to cut women’s refuge money – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.
When the Nats say they have to sell our assets to pay their debt – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.
A video clip from Parliament yesterday. Goff calmly and systematically rips Key and the government apart on Friday’s RWC fiasco. Armstrong calls it Goff’s “best speech in a long time”.
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It turns out that the high price of milk is your fault. No – really.
