Quick question
Why does our Minister of Tourism always take his holidays overseas?
Herald against Nats’ power grabs
The Herald’s editorial today is a strong rebuke of National’s anti-democratic power grabs. Close on the heels of CERRA is the World Cup Empowering Act, giving unfettered powers to ministers that they don’t need. The Herald’s opposition shows, again, how badly wrong Labour and the Greens got it when they voted for CERRA.
The tax cut fizzer
For a long, time National and the Right have tried to convince us that all we need is tax cuts. You can understand why: their other policies are deeply unpopular, cutting taxes is a roundabout way of cutting public services, which they hate, and tax cuts deliver the most to their wealthy base. So will we see any actual benefits from the great tax swindle?
John Banks – another Melissa Lee
John Banks has been slagging off South Auckland. Ooops. That’s the same mistake that Melissa Lee made in the Mt Albert by election. The same mistake deserves the same fate. Banks cannot credibly operate as mayor of the SuperCity.
Open mike 01/10/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Capitalist Ten Commandments
A Capitalist Ten Commandments.
Do unto others…
Best. campaign. ad. ever.
Do you watch 5 second films?
If not, you’re wasting your life.
Now, waste some more. In five second increments.
Pattern recognition
John Key tells a businesswoman he “would love to see wages drop“. National makes sub-inflation minimum wage increase. National makes no effort to […]
Nats back Jackson over Kiwi workers
Arts Minister Chris Finlayson has backed the Hobbit producers’ refusal to negotiate with Kiwi workers.
He’s citing a Crown Law opinion that backs Jackson’s claim he can’t negotiate with workers collectively.
But he’s deliberately asked a very narrow question to get the answer he wants – an answer he’s using to back foreign big business over the rights of Kiwi workers.
Tax Swindle Graph
Danyl over at DimPost has produced an excellent graph of the gains from National’s Tax Swindle. It uses the Government’s figures, it is generous in showing average rather than median incomes…
And it doesn’t look good for average kiwis.
Tax cuts for the rich no use if you’ve lost your job
Despite Bill English’s firm statement that “unemployment has peaked”, jobs are still being lost in large numbers. 1500 council workers in Auckland. 150 mushroom workers in Morrinsville. 500 workers whose quake hit employers are closing down in Christchurch. From John Key’s Hawaiian beach chair these worries must seem very far away.
Open mike 30/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Short and sweet
At the risk of following Bill’s excellent post with something seriously lightweight, I just read this in the Listener and thought it was […]
Que CERRA, CERRA?
After picking up my award for worst ever ‘Standard’ post title, I’d just like to say that there seems to a penchant these days to leave too many things up to higher powers, or perceived authorities. And authorities and those who are ideologically aligned with them or reliant upon them, naturally enough encourage such a giving away of agency. It’s not always deliberate. And it’s certainly not a conspiracy. It’s just the way it is and is borne of habit. This morning afforded a fairly clear example of it.
Hickey sees the light
Bernard Hickey, one of the country’s leading economic commentators, was a hardline neo-liberal – ie. the market is god. Now, he’s changed his mind. He’s come to the realisation that there’s no invisible god’s hand directing capitalist markets. Instead they are directed by short-termist elites. We need to take back control.
Jackson threatens capital flight
I thought Peter Jackson was an ordinary guy made good who hadn’t let success make him an elitist prick. I was wrong. New Zealand taxpayers contributed hundreds of millions to his <em>Lord of the Rings</em> trilogy and what thanks do we get? Threats of capital flight, which will probably soon be followed by demands for taxpayer subsidies.
Nat smear machine obsessed by Fa’afoi’s ethnicity
Ever since Kris Fa’afoi put his name forward to be Labour’s candidate in the Mana by-election, the National smear machine attacked him on his Tokelaun heritage. First it was ‘oh, they’re only going to choose him because he has a brown face’. Now, apparently, the problem is that he isn’t Pasifika enough. In truth, it’s National with the problems.
Jackson’s employment law fibs
Peter Jackson and others film industry employers are claiming they can’t employ their workers as employees.
That claim is simply untrue.
So what’s the real reason for their reluctance to employee people on proper agreements?
Open mike 29/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Anne Tolley is a fool
Anne Tolley, Minister for wrecking primary education, doesn’t have the first or faintest idea of what “national standards” are actually going to mean in practice. She is “appalled” at the idea of labelling children as failures. But that is exactly what the standards are designed to do.
Open letter on the CERRA
A group of 27 legal scholars from New Zealand and overseas has written an open letter outlining their deep concerns over the constitutional implications of the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010.
Nats’ shortsighted penny-pinching will cost us big in the end
While the cat’s away the mice will play. And while the clown’s sunning himself in Hawaii the ideologues in his Cabinet will launch vitriolic attacks on public service workers. As teachers are forced to endure another day of the country’s most powerful figures attack them, lets consider the consequences of undermining vital public services.
English spins on GST with no traction
It’s worth having a look at Bill English’s performance on Q+A the other day. What’s telling, to my mind, is that English can’t present a real vision or even any spin-free information. Why not? Because his tax swindle is about taking from us and giving to the elite, and he can’t just come and say that.
Solo parent bashing
Life isn’t hard enough already for solo parents, according to the Nats. So they’re going to make it harder.
Meanwhile, in some good news…
While the Anglo – Saxon or English speaking left seems unable to shake a deep malaise that began afflicting it some thirty years ago, the left in the Spanish speaking world is making some remarkable strides forward.
Open mike 28/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
MEAA fisks Jackson tirade
The MEAA has responded to Peter Jacksons Tirade.
And it looks like he’s not been very straight-up about how the situation got to this.
No Right Turn on GST policy changes.
No Right Turn has covered todays announcement about policy changes for GST on fruit and vegetables. Since it is pretty comprehensive we will reproduce the two posts here.
Denier dissected 2
Christopher Monckton has been one of the “highest profile” climate change deniers. But it looks like his days as poster pinup for the denier movement are well and truly over. He’s busted.
Key’s bunker of spin
According to NBR Key is locked down in a bunker of spin that separates him from his party and his caucus.
And it seems like that’s holding the hard right policy back for now.
But things will change in a second term.
A suggestion for students
The voluntary student union membership bill is based on a false premise, and a reflexive tory hatred for the word “union”. I have a suggestion for students…
Union boycotts Jackson
Film workers in New Zealand have been exploited for years
Now their union is standing up for them.
And Sir Peter Jackson is throwing a tantrum about it.
Open mike 27/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Ed Miliband UK Labour Leader
Ed Miliband has narrowly beaten his brother David to become the new leader of Labour in the UK. They now get to move on from the Brown-Blair era and fightback against the Tories.
