Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 18 comments
Categories: disaster, leadership
Tags: christchurch earthquake, christchurch rebuilding, resilience
The thoughts of the whole country are with Christchurch today.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 23rd, 2012 - 4 comments
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Written By: - Date published: 9:43 pm, February 22nd, 2012 - 4 comments
Kevin Rudd resigned as Australian Foreign Minister in a midnight speech from Washington. He will now return to Australia, consult, and issue a statement as to his intentions. Nobody seems to think Rudd has the numbers to win a ballot this week; the issue will be whether he stays on the back bench and continues to undermine. I can’t see that lasting.
Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 63 comments
Steven Fry’s outburst on broadband in NZ, however confused, did at least succeed in putting the state of our broadband access back in the headlines for a bit. It’s an issue that the Nats would rather we forgot.
Written By: - Date published: 7:37 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 66 comments
Asset sales will only happen if Peter Dunne votes for them. It is his choice whether we keep our strategic assets, or lose control of them forever. So, constituents in Dunne’s electorate of Ohariu have established the Citizens’ Select Committee to hear the arguments that the Government will not and a report to Parliament. Make your submission.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 60 comments
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Written By: - Date published: 10:01 pm, February 21st, 2012 - 30 comments
National’s getting a reputation for not being able to keep its secrets secret. When its National’s political plans, it’s a public good when this info gets out. When it’s free and frank, and classified, communications with a minister about our diplomatic relations, that’s a risk to NZ. As we see a taste of the McCully emails, we wonder when Key’s going to hold his minister to account for his disregard for security. Updated.
Written By: - Date published: 3:51 pm, February 21st, 2012 - 29 comments
Consciences are uncomfortable things and mine’s been giving me a bit of trouble lately. I’ve been on the horns of a dilemma (sorry for the cliche but who can resist the imagery?) about employment practices. We allow ourselves a handwringing moment, a short burst of outraged righteousness and then run off to buy a pair …
Written By: - Date published: 2:46 pm, February 21st, 2012 - 42 comments
RadioLive asked “Did the PM’s hour influence your vote?” on its website last Friday. Billy the Kid commented: “It was my first election. I heard Key and thought he sounded pretty cool so yeah I voted for him.” All it takes is one to confirm that RadioLive broke the law.
Written By: - Date published: 11:37 am, February 21st, 2012 - 46 comments
Economic sovereignty is suddenly the hot issue with the vast majority of Kiwis opposed to more foreign ownership and asset sales. The Nats are in a spin: Key is desperately trying to upgrade English’s ‘guess’ on the fiscal impact of asset sales to a “best estimate”. Time for that asset sales referendum petition. Maybe you can help draft the question.
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, February 21st, 2012 - 54 comments
Key upbeat about quake recovery work – Headline
Here’s a couple of numbers that might sober Mr Smile and Wave:
Written By: - Date published: 6:23 am, February 21st, 2012 - 206 comments
For the first time in history, net government debt has passed $50 billion. New Zealand’s net international liabilities, the amount New Zealand owes the rest of the world, is also skyrocketing: $140 billion now, $197 billion in 2016. John Key used to say we had a growth problem, not a debt problem. With GDP per capita down 2% under National, we now have both.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 21st, 2012 - 46 comments
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Written By: - Date published: 10:33 pm, February 20th, 2012 - 7 comments
It’s not Helen’s dad but former Scottish TUC Leader Pat Kelly who will speak at St John’s this Tuesday 21st at 6pm on his book Scotland’s Radical Exports – Scottish expats who led unions and Labour around the world. All welcome.
Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, February 20th, 2012 - 3 comments
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here
Bollard says the NZ-Aus income gap may not be as large as suggested – but what about the incompetence gap?
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, February 20th, 2012 - 2 comments
Labour is currently undertaking a review of its organisational capabilities. It’s a process looking at what it means to be a Labour member and supporter and how Labour can better engage with our supporters. Young Labour have a website for ideas. The Labour party website still hasn’t heard about it.
Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, February 20th, 2012 - 11 comments
The Nats are looking to Queensland for lessons in privatisation. They want to see how incentives for locals to hold on to their shares work. But you don’t pay for incentives with magic beans. Any incentives for the few locals who can afford to buy shares just means a diminished return to the government, making the economic and fiscal rationale for selling even weaker.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, February 20th, 2012 - 238 comments
Last night, I saw Kevin Hague on the news talking about mine safety – mining, West Coast, labour rights, and no Labour voice. Same with minimum wage and asset sales. A hungry Green Party is leading issues while Labour appears immobilised. No wonder Metiria Turei is saying they won’t play little sibling; I see them being a third or more of the next governing coalition.
Written By: - Date published: 6:34 am, February 20th, 2012 - 65 comments
According to the latest 3 News poll. National’s long slide has begun. Key’s popularity has also fallen to its lowest level yet as PM…
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 20th, 2012 - 44 comments
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Written By: - Date published: 7:33 pm, February 19th, 2012 - 10 comments
The Global Square “aims to be the first massive decentralized social network in the history of the Internet”. Can you help?
Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, February 19th, 2012 - 40 comments
Two weeks into the political year, who deserves the sack? Bill ‘it’s a guess’ English, Lockwood ‘small hands’ Smith, Paul ‘cheeky darkies’ Holmes, John ‘DJ’ Key, Maurice ‘Dumb’ Williamson, Jonathan ‘Dumber’ Coleman, Craig ‘Goebbels’ Foss, Stephen ‘Riefenstahl’ McElrea, Trevor ‘Scalper’ Mallard, Tariana ‘Slush Fund’ Turia, Murray ‘Security Risk’ McCully…
Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, February 19th, 2012 - 135 comments
There have been several interesting pieces on the politics of climate change recently, including some reflections (and a new book) from Michael Mann (the scientist behind the “hockey stick”), and leaked documents from the denier industry.
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, February 19th, 2012 - 15 comments
Whitney’s funeral was today’s news – across the BBC, Fox and CNN for over three hours. It was riveting; a great tribute to a warm and loving woman, and a reminder of how hard it can sometimes be for those whose gift it is to sing from the heart, but also of how much love and forgiveness is available to them.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 19th, 2012 - 32 comments
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Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, February 18th, 2012 - 303 comments
Fran ‘Sell it all’ O’Sullivan is fuming over the Court decision putting aside the approval of Pengxin’s application to buy Crafar Farms. She knows that Pengxin can’t satisfy the actual legal test because its bid has never been about bringing benefit to New Zealand. Its been about securing strategic assets for China. But some of her whining really needs to be pulled up.
Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, February 18th, 2012 - 126 comments
Private sector competition brings market disciplines and efficiencies to bloated publicly-owned monopolies. That’s the mantra, eh? That’s the indisputable truth… right? So, how come the Nats are planning to make ACC raise its levies and pay a dividend – for the first time ever – so that private insurers can compete? And how does that benefit NZ?
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, February 18th, 2012 - 16 comments
No Right Turn on the plight of democracy in Greece.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 18th, 2012 - 22 comments
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Written By: - Date published: 5:57 pm, February 17th, 2012 - 37 comments
Paula Bennett, in her rush to action, has a Green Paper that intends to create a White Paper that may result in some legislation that she hopes will help “vulnerable children”. But, much as National have spurned attempts from other parties for a non-partisan action on child poverty and looking after our nation’s children, we …
Written By: - Date published: 2:57 pm, February 17th, 2012 - 1 comment
Peter Radich, BSA Chair, absolutely rejects “any kind of improper influence” over his controversial decision that Radio Live PM’s Hour was not an election programme. I wouldn’t accuse him of improper influence, rather lack of competence as his judgement was completely outside the Authority’s brief.
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