Is it time for the Greens to go their own way?
Climate, ecology, welfare, housing – we are now at the point for the Greens to go ‘fuck it, time to go back to our radical roots’.
catherine delahunty
On the Road with Todd and Ken
Catherine Delahunty recounts an impression of Todd Muller from her days as an Green MP. “The road to polite and personal good will is worth driving when there is no urgency and no deep changes required. It is good to arrive somewhere without personal damage and with genuine good will but it is not the base for addressing the most critical issues of our time.”
Words on leaving the House of pain and strength
All gratitude to Catherine Delahunty for this blazing speech.
Catherine Delahunty: My Mataura River visit
Green Party Spokesperson for Water, Catherine Delahunty, has been down South as part of the Greens’ Swimmable Rivers Tour. She reports on restoration of the Mataura River, farmers doing the right thing, and the community being further ahead than the government on water.
Vulnerable Children: The big picture
Yesterday Paula Bennett introduced the First Reading of the Vulnerable Children Bill. Nat MPs separated child abuse from issues of poverty and income inequality. Opposition MPs from Mana, Labour & The Greens called the Nats on it, arguing for the bigger picture.
The stealthy dismantling of democracy
John Key’s government has been gradually dismantling NZ’s democratic processes. Various activities this week are a major part of a frightening shift: a Bill enabling mining conservation land; punitive social security Act; Key’s control over NZ’s “intelligence community”.
Mining & the sly dismantling of conservation protections
Cuts to DOC, the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill [3rd reading today], permits allowing the exploration for minerals on Schedule 4 land: here is the stealthy NAct MO in action, to undermine the strong public protests against Schedule 4 mining. [Update: the Bill is #6 on today’s Final Order Paper]
Petitioning for education
Good to see that the Greens presented to Parliament today a 37,000 signature petition expressing concern about the Government’s National Standards policy…
Pansy Wong bids for worst minister award
When you’ve got a Finance Minister who can’t get stats right, a Social Welfare Minister who can’t define her flagship policy, and an Education Minister who can’t explain her flagship policy, it’s easy for an incompetent Women’s Affairs Minister to slip through.