You’re All Racists – Minister
According to Maurice Williamson, we’re all racist. Our concern with foreign investment has nothing to do with the economy, we just hate the Chinese.
Open mike 03/09/2010
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Cutting through the bullshit
Over the next few weeks the nats and other vested interests will try to muddy the waters over the SCF bailout.
This sophistry is designed to distract from the massive transfer of wealth from the many to the few.
And why shouldn’t they try this tactic? It worked for asset sales two and a half decades ago.
SCF bail-out gets much, much murkier
A few people have made a hell of a lot of money off the South Canterbury Finance collapse and bail-out. Are these the same people behind the mystery company that was created just three weeks ago and wants to buy SCF for $1.57 billion? Whether it’s been an organised plan or just lone sharks attracted by blood in the water, the result is the same: the rich win, we lose.
Whatever happened to…
Few stories that have slipped through the cracks are bothering me:
Whatever happened to Tolley’s diplomatic squad investigation? What about Coldplay’s damages for when National stole ‘Clocks’? And Bennett’s apology to Fuller? And that mysterious company in the Caymans that bought Key’s shares? And why was Worth really sacked?
NZ’s biggest welfare beneficiary revealed in shock horror Herald exclusive expose’
To find out who it is, click here.
Will this individual’s personal file be read out in Parliament by Paula Bennett?
Will this beneficiary’s sex life be investigated by WINZ as grounds for disqualification?
No victory in Iraq
Barack Obama declared the U.S. combat mission in Iraq officially over on Tuesday but said he would not take a “victory lap”. No victory? That’s quite an understatement…
Newsflash: Nation not a Business
National don’t understand macroeconomics. As such they are inflicting massive and unnecessary harm, with high unemployment and a long time until recovery.
Open mike 02/09/2010
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Our $20 million bill for Nats’ expediency
Many argue English should never have extended the deposit guarantee to South Canterbury Finance in April, or question whether the terms of the guarantee called for the pay-out. Then there’s the stink around the payment of SCF bonds. One thing’s for sure, the Nats didn’t need to spend $20 million on foreign depositors – they did it to try to kill the issue faster. Plenty of meat for Labour. Will they bite?
Whither The Standard?
What next for The Standard? You’re our readers, so you must like something that we do. And you probably have some ideas on what we can do better. So tell us! How best to build The Standard into a community and a voice for the left wing of NZ politics?
Key: Obama’s my pen pal
Key says his personal relationship with Obama (met the guy twice) means he can call him. Don’t think it’s your winning grin mate. Think it’s because you’re PM of New Zealand. Anyway, this ain’t a game of collecting phone numbers, John. You’ve got to deliver something concrete. How’s that free trade deal coming?
Reserve army of labour
Bill English came pretty close to admitting that the Nats are “relaxed” about our current high unemployment. Phil Goff came out swinging…
Key slams teachers, medics. Puppies next in his sights
Key says that teachers are “disconnected from the real world” for wanting a pay rise that will barely beat inflation. This from the same guy who promised higher wages. The same guy chucked half a billion dollars this year alone on the taxpayer credit card for tax cuts for the rich. The only people disconnected from the real world are those who think skimping on education and health will take this country forward.
National’s ‘line calls’
Serious questions are being asked why South Canterbury Finance was allowed to join the extended retail deposit guarantee scheme in April given that its financial problems were well-known and its credit rating was downgraded just weeks later. Bill English says it was a ‘line call’, one that’s just cost us at least $600 million. It’s not the first ‘line call’ English has stuffed up.
Open mike 01/09/2010
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The many bail out the few
Funny how quickly John Key and Bill English found that spare $1.7bn for wealthy investors after all that talk about how we should be tightening our belts.
It’s shows exactly where their priorities are.
A relentless focus on jobs
The government is canning it’s already too-small and ill-directed Community Max programme. $40 million was a pathetic amount that created, at best, just 3,000 temporary jobs when quarter of a million Kiwis are jobless. And, due to lazy policy-making all the Key government probably ended up doing was subsidising jobs that would have been created anyway.
Unions Succeed where National Fails
National’s big election promise in 2008 was to close the wage gap with Australia. They’re failing, as our wages fall behind theirs under National’s economic mismanagement and employer-centric policies.
But there are some who are doing better than others in the pay stakes:
Union members.
Anything too big to fail should be publicly owned
South Canterbury Finance is on the brink of collapse. The plan appears to be for the government to purchase the bad loans from the company at twice their book value, giving SCF the cash it needs to get back on its feet. That’s a dumb idea. The owners of SCF have taken huge profits in the good times, they can’t be allowed to pass their losses on to the rest of us now and continue as if nothing happened.
Diconnected Key
According to John Key, teachers who want to maintain reasonably class sizes and free flu vaccines are disconnected from the real world. That […]
Lousy propaganda from the Herald
The Herald’s top story today screams “Strikers’ Helpless Victims”.
But it turns out that staff have been suspended.
I guess that doesn’t fit the Herald’s class war perspective.
Open mike 31/08/2010
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Kiwi jester to play for Queen
Self-styled ‘Jokemeister-in-chief’ John Key has been selected from a host of eager clowns, buffoons, and slapstick artists (known as the National Party) to perform for Queen Elizabeth the Second for a weekend next month. Asked if he has any nerves ahead of the big show, Key whipped out his old catchphrase saying “nah, I’m pretty relaxed”.
Teachers strike
Not content with wrecking primary school education, Anne Tolley has bought herself an unnecessary fight with secondary teachers.
Failure by the numbers 2
Number of recorded offences in the 2008 calander year: 431,383
Number of recorded offences in the 2009 calander year: 451,405
Number of unsolved crimes in Judith Collin’s first year as minister: 235,787, up 5,000
Number of cars crushed: 0
Search and Survey Our Loss of Human Rights
Strip searched by the dog-control officer, your home computer hacked by the Pork Board and the Commerce Commission putting 24-hour cameras in your bedroom. It’ll all be fine once the new Search and Surveillance Bill goes through. Oh, and you lose your right to silence. And the need for a warrant is reduced. And…
Open mike 30/08/2010
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The ground zero mosque
“The ground zero mosque” is the latest focus of and flash-point for deranged American right wing anger. The Guardian’s Charlie Brooker explains.
Multi-site
The site has now been reconfigured to be a multi-site system. This will allow us to start setting up child sites for more specialized topics in the future. It should allow us to keep expanding our range of posts with the ever increasing number of authors.
Open mike 29/08/2010
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Another broken Supercity promise
Yet another broken promise on the Auckland Supercity, as ministers fail to consult on the directors of council-controlled organisations. Will The Herald stand by its earlier thundering editorial?
Oh, Cameron. Oh dear
“Yes, I breached those orders, because they were bullshit, and should never have been made!” That’s what you could have – should have – said. That was the apparent basis for your whole seemingly-crazy crusade. But you denied the charges. Then refused to appear in the witness-box. You made it abundantly clear that the entire exercise was all about getting noticed.
Ramping up renewables
Bryan Walker at Hot Topic looks at the large scale renewable energy projects that are being developed in various countries around the world. The contrast with the dated approach to energy from Gerry Brownlee is quite striking. That has been described as “The Government’s energy strategy prioritises drilling and mining for more oil and coal, while providing virtually no stimulation for the development of renewable energy and clean technology. It … makes no attempt to set measurable emissions reduction targets.”
Death of a Working Class Hero
In a culture where the only heroes seem to be sports stars and comic book characters it’s important to remember those whose have fought for the rights of workers.
Earlier this month, one of these heroes, Jimmy Reid, died.
He is a man who passing should not go unmarked.
Aussie election: Gillard holds the advantage
A week after Australia went to the polls the outcome is still unclear. However, with the last seat (Brisbane) pretty much decided, I’d put my money on Julia Gillard remaining Prime Minister and Labor retaining power. Take a look at the numbers…