Free doco
There’s been a lot of talk over the last couple of days on Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and the controversial referendum on removing […]
Ryall sacks DHB Chair
Health Minister Tony Ryall’s decision to sack Richard Thompson as Chairman of the Otago District Health Board on the grounds of historical fraud […]
Maintenance and upgrades
The latest load of bill-paying work has finished (and the site is paid up until June). I’m at a relatively loose end for […]
Fueling the PR machine ain’t cheap
Just like petrol prices, the cost of fueling National’s PR machine is on the rise. Tracy Watkins reports that “National has employed 18 […]
That’s strange
An hour ago No Right Turn posted a piece citing what was apparently a Ministry of Social Development press release, which he says was “confirmation that […]
So much for democracy
The Greens have released advice from the Ministry of Justice confirming that the Government’s rushed RMA changes will prevent legitimate cases going to […]
“We are all socialists now”
“We are all socialists now”, or so says the cover of the latest Newsweek. And to be fair, you’ve got to start wondering […]
The media bash
* Did any journo ask Key how much the boot camp is costing per person? Follow my maths. Total cost of new youth […]
Micropartywatch
Wondering about the latest on New Zealand First’s leadership? Curious as to the prospects for a RAM/Workers’ Party union? The new blog Micro […]
Boots and all
Tracey Watkins reports that National has announced details of its Boot Camps policy: “The military-style camp programme would target the 40 most serious […]
Why do dummies lead our national debates?
Why does the Business Roundtable employ an economic illiterate to represent them to the public and argue their corner on macroeconomics? Here’s some […]
You’ve got to know to ask the questions that matter
When I heard Shell is looking at selling its service stations in NZ and its shares in Fulton Hogan, my initial thought was […]
Sold out
According to the Dom Post Judith Collins is preparing legislation to reintroduce private prisons into New Zealand’s corrections system. The arguments against privatisation […]
Grassroots healthy
It’s great to see a lot of grassroots activity around the Left at the moment. No Right Turn has set up the Progbills […]
Which end to break the egg, and other pointless debates
The NZPA has revealed that Ministrial Services is employing fewer people on higher pay under the new National/ACT government than it did under […]
Faking it
It’s a bit late but I thought I’d draw people’s attention to the work Pundit’s Tim Watkin has been doing on the government’s […]
Do they know its credit crunch time?
Great video for the real victims of this recession, the ‘smartest men in the room’ who cocked everything up, the money-men. Bleed the […]
Love’s Labour’s lost
There were few Valentine’s Day sentiments for Labour in John Armstrong’s column today: It is difficult to put a finger on it, but […]
Culpae poenae par esto
I just want to second Tane’s comments regarding the sentence for the killer of Pihema Cameron. A 12 year old Maori child acts as […]
Marking time: Darwin to Lincoln
Today is the anniversary of two of histories great names – Darwin and Lincoln. Both men made significant (albeit different) contributions to our […]
Institutional racism
Bruce Emery’s sentence of just four years and three months on a reduced charge of manslaughter for chasing 15 year old Pihema Cameron […]
The praiseworthy and the pitiful
Lockwood Smith managing of Question Time. B. Lockwood has made a commendable effort to get ministers to answer questions and cut down on […]
Wake up, Bill
Bill English is living in a dream, and he may create a nightmare for the rest of us. Last week, he said the […]
Sugar rush
John Key and Tracey Watkins have both (completely by coincidence) said we must avoid responding to the recession with a ‘sugar rush’ of […]
When less is less
It appears National are trying to promote the “little and often” approach to economic planning – but commentators are appearing a little skeptical. […]
Left to the market
Two Pennsylvania Judges have been accused of taking bribes from private prison operators to ensure a reliable stream of prisoners. To quote Associated […]
Fossil watch
The hilarity continues. According to a person who was there, Douglas didn’t use his speech because it had been accidently leaked, and subsequently […]
Reminder: Drinking Liberally Wgtn tonight
Just got an email through from the team at DL Wellington confirming that tonight’s event with Brian Easton is on despite the rain […]
Ralston on Ryall
Ralston’s latest column – Ryall’s disabled thinking – covers Tony Ryall’s decision to ignore a select committee recommendation that National set up a Disabilities Commission, […]
Miro 2.0
Opensource. Free. Cool.
First as tragedy, second as farce
After Roger Douglas’ big comeback speech was accidentally released two days early on the Internet due to inept media handling, then parodied on […]
What we should be doing
As IrishBill has said, National’s so-called ‘kick-start’ is pretty underwhelming – bringing forward a few more roads and a bigger bridge so that […]
Now with a little perspective
I was going through some of my 2008 files yesterday and got a sudden reminder of just how nuts the right was getting […]
More powers for the cops, that’ll solve everything
I was going to write about the new DNA powers National/ACT is giving the Police, but No Right Turn has already done it […]
Less a kickstart than a wee nudge with a soft shoe
The kickstart package is out and it seems to be a mixture of work that was already going to happen and stuff that […]
Employer opposes wage increases – shock!
Yesterday I expressed concern about Unite’s referendum on indexing the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage on practical grounds while strongly […]