Open mike 09/06/2010
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Govt’s instances of abuse
Over the weekend, I read the right wing blogs with interest and their frequent references to left-wing politicians troughing at the taxpayers expense and other such instances of abuse. I then lent my mind to the National-led Government and how they have fared in this regard over the last 18 months.
This is what I came up with:
Aussie national standards hurting education
We all know what a disaster America’s ‘No Child Left Behind’, the inspiration for the Nats’ National Standards has been. It seems Australia has gone down a very similar track and the results have been the same – teaching to the test, grade inflation, and institutional cheating as teachers and schools find themselves being judged solely on their students’ grades.
Referendum vote count undemocratic
The way the votes will be counted in the Government’s MMP Referendum Bill is highly unusual and in my view undemocratic. There will not be any independent scrutiny on election day of the votes cast or spoiled in the referendum. Independent scrutiny of the ballot in my view is essential part to retaining confidence in the democratic process.
Mondayise Anzac, Waitangi (& Matariki)
The dearth of long weekends this year has made me feel cheated. And now with Queen’s Birthday over it’s a long wait till Labour weekend in October. That’s not fair dammit. It’s time to give Matariki its due and celebrate with a Monday off in July.
Buyer’s remorse on both sides of the Tasman
Aussies are looking more and more likely to elect Abbott. Terrible. Guy’s a chauvinistic prick who admitted you can’t trust a word he […]
Won’t Somebody Think of the Children?
According to a new report: “New Zealand is a great place for children if their parents have a good income, live in a warm dry house and are well educated.” However if you’re not born into a privileged household, then death and disease “is worse than that of all but two [developed] countries, Mexico and Turkey.”
Nanny state on the roads
Last Queen’s Birthday Weekend 10 people died on the roads and 32 were seriously injured. Last Easter another 12 dead, the highest toll in 18 years. This Queen’s Birthday police announced a massive crackdown on speeding. Idiots such as DPF denounced it as a “revenue gathering exercise”. But events have proved them very wrong, with the lowest toll in 54 years.
Open mike 08/06/2010
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Clamping down on trusts
One of the most popular uses of trusts is to hide income for tax avoidance or evasion. So, I was happy to read about the IRD’s success in a recent court case against two surgeons. The court found these two very rich men had used trusts to avoid tax to the tune of $168,000. The case will have big ramifications, potentially shutting down one of the biggest tax rorts in the country.
The company they keep
Wayne Eagleson isn’t doing anything wrong by going on holiday with rightwing lobbyists but there are parallels with John Key’s Highwater-gate. Eagleson doesn’t have the apparent conflicts of interest that Key has (more on that later) but both incidents give us an insight into the company that National keeps and the interests they really represent.
Trouble ahead foreshore
At a recent meeting about 100 Iwi leaders rejected the Government’s proposed reform for the Foreshore and Seabed Act. That means the issue remains a ticking time bomb for Key. He is going to have to enrage either the Maori Party or his core Iwi/Kiwi constituency. Either way there’s trouble ahead.
Open mike 07/06/2010
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Curse of the celebrity politician
The story goes that David Lange he was informed of the Rainbow Warrior bombing while lining up for the Tuckshop at Waiwera Hot Pools. As a young fella I guess I had a view of a PM as kind of distant, so I thought it was fantastic that Lange actually just stood in line like everyone else. Has ‘Brand Key’ paradoxically forced Key into a distance where he can’t act like previous PMs?
Anatomy of a right-wing smear
With Len Brown beating Banks in the polls the right have come out swinging.
Let’s take a quick look at the anatomy of this dirt digging beast.
Pete Hodgson stepping down
Long serving MP for Dunedin North, Pete Hodgson, will step down at the next election. Nominations for the next candidate will open on July 1, and Labour’s Council has said that it is leaving the selection up to the local electorate.
Coddington on our overgrown weeds
Tall poppy syndrome. It’s one of those useful, mindless terms that comes up again and again in our political discourse. Like its cousin ‘PC’ it is used to delegitimise any criticism the behaviour of those with privilege and power towards others. It survives because it is useful to an elite, not because it makes any sense.
Lazy Sunday viewing: viral video chart
Fancy wasting a little time on a slow Sunday? Some viral video, courtesy of Guardian blogger, Jemima Kiss.
Denier dissected
“Lord” Christopher Monckton is a high profile climate change denier. Professor John Abraham examines his claims in detail, and shows Monckton to be a serial liar, misrepresenting the science at every turn. What makes a person tell lies that are going to cost us the earth?
Open mike 06/06/2010
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Dancing on a head of a pin on asset sales
National really, really wants to sell assets – it’ll be worth a fortune to their rich mates who can’t seem to generate any success on their own without a government hand out. But the public is firmly against asset sales. It would be an election losing campaign issue. So, National will play a game of ambiguous promises and confusing financial moves to sell without appearing to sell.
Electoral Reform Needs Fixing
Two Electoral Reform bills are currently accepting submissions, and each contain one particularly large flaw. Firstly, as I commented on the Electoral (Finance […]
Kiwi favourite of speculators
Read this story to understand why the real economy in New Zealand struggles to get ahead of a volatile currency driven by overseas […]
Roy Morgan poll
Latest Roy Morgan poll shows support for John Key’s National-led Government has strengthen considerably to 57.5% (up 3.5%)
Open mike 05/06/2010
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Complaint over “drunken” Minister
National Party Trade Minister Tim Groser is facing allegations he was behaving drunk and rowdy on a flight back from a trade meeting in Dubai. Though a humourous image, if true, this is unacceptable behaviour from a Minister. Groser needs to chill – maybe he should’ve smoked that spliff he denied taking instead?
Honest John
A short video from Red Alert. All that you need to know about John Key in less than one minute…
YouTube launches political campaign toolset
Today, Google launched a new set of tools to help political candidates and activist organisastions engage with constituents and citizens.
From the Google Public Sector Blog:
We want to do our part to make sure candidates and campaigns have the tools to stay close to voters, who now expect to hear and see much more from their elected officials than ever before.
Thank god for small mercies
Stuff is reporting that Michael Lhaws won’t stand again as Mayor of Whanganui. Maybe the town can now move forward without being burdened by Laws’ race politics. Whanganui will be a better place without the former National Party researcher.
Flotilla Massacre Roundup
After the first shocking news, Israel took control of information about their act of high seas piracy. From jamming the airwaves to stop the media reporting from the boats shortly after they boarded them, to keeping the protesters detained, they ensured that their side was the only one that had the facts.
Nat MP caught breaking disclosure rules
Another Nat MP is in the gun for failing to declare financial interests in line with Parliament’s rules. The Taranaki Daily News is reporting that local National MP Jonathan Young (Herald journalist Audrey Young’s brother) did not declare his directorship in a company that holds his trust’s properties. It looks like the standard set by John “blind trust” Key has infected his own MPs.
Unbelievable
John Key is responsible for enforcing the Cabinet Manual on members of his Cabinet, including himself. And that manual includes very specific provisions about pecuniary interests and conflicts. The idea that he is not responsible for this is as unbelievable as it is unacceptable.
A quiet day
The Internet is a modern wonder. However if you have to run servers on it, often the biggest wonder is that it works at all. There are so many things that can go wrong with the transport of data from one place to another.
One of those glitches happened to us yesterday.
Labour’s credit card records out today
Back last year when National was being stung over Bill ‘Double Dipton’ English and other ministers rorting the accommodation allowance and misuse of ministerial credit cards, National thought they would get a bite back at Labour by releasing the credit card records for Labour’s terms in office too. Word around the traps is they’re going to drop it later today.
Key avoiding Morning Report
Key is avoiding Morning Report, and word is beginning to get around. Is it just lazyness caused by (until recently) stratospheric poll ratings? Or is he scared to front up? Either way it’s not a good look, and it’s an abdication of his responsibility as PM.
Open mike 04/06/2010
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