Then Parliament can simply choose to exit it. Doesn't mean there won't be any consequences; only that there wouldn't be any legal impediment. Basically, Parliament is sovereign. So, gets to decide what's legal and illegal. So, even if there's a law, for ...
I'd like to see all of the mayors and councilors who were foaming at the mouth about 3 waters and Labour's "authoritarianism" put exactly the same amount of time and energy (and ratepayer money) into defending local democracy from National.
You're spot on the money about the constitutional consequences Sanctuary. I just hope all of Shane Jones' and David Seymour's mates price the risk of their blatantly corrupt or environmentally damaging projects being cancelled by a less retrograde ...
So, for those of us playing along at home, the three parties that vowed to remain laser focused on the issues that matter most to people have: Told communities they can't decide how they're represented. Made it much harder for councils to set appropriate ...
Steady on mate! Israel absolutely has a case to answer for its numerous and egregious war crimes against the Palestinian. The IDF's conduct and brazen disregard for the safety of civilians during the invasion of Gaza has been unacceptable as it is ...
OMG a fellow Manawatu resident! To be fair to Cr Bell, plenty of people that don't support Māori wards have made a bunch of even more stupid and specious claims about the process. Technically, you only needed 5% of voters to call for a referendum on ...
It's a balance. However, it's also a problem when voters pay for world class public services and they aren't delivered. Ok, let's unpack that. Let's say instead of delivering a public service I'm a builder and tell you that it will cost you a million ...
Ummmm, did NATO deter Putin? Ummmmm Poland and the baltics continue to exist despite Russia very much wanting them not to, so yes.
It will be fascinating to see if all the local body politicians that were up in arms about central government overreach and protecting local democracy when Labour was pursuing 3 waters reforms will put just as much time and energy and vehemence into ...
They operate in the same financial and economic environment. The 20% of NZ'ers employed by the state are paid for by the 80% who are not. When the growth in public sector employees outstrips the growth in the sector that funds them, there is a problem. ...
In their defense, have you heard Simeon Brown or Nicola Willis getting interviewed? If I was their staffers, I'd try keep the pair of them locked in a broom cupboard in the Beehive as far away from the media (or any other human beings) as possible.
Racists gonna racism, I guess.
Hi Traveller While you present an interesting thesis, there's really no empirical basis or consensus for there being a "right" size for public services, or percentage of GDP that we should be spending on it. All we've got is a bunch of reckons and ...
How do you define bloated Dolomedes? Because there isn't any empirical evidence to suggest there's a optimal size for the public service.
Meanwhile our glorious new government will allow racists to retroactively decide whether or not Maori are entitled to representation in local bodies. Good to see they're lazer focused on the economy and managing the cost-of-living crisis.
I think the problem faced by just about every left (or center-left) party in every democracy is that the culture wars perpetrated by the right post GFC have left the electorate angry and exquisitely aware of the inequities generated by unbridled capitalism...
If the previous government could be characterised as lions led by a donkey, then surely this government could be charitably described as donkeys "led" (in the loosest possible sense of the term) by an ass. It seems that Luxon et al are attempting to ...
There's nothing more Labour than halfheartedly trying to fight the previous election 6 months to a year too late.
But we abandoned property ownership as the basis for the franchise over a century ago, because for all the the rhetoric around it, it was really an attempt to keep the dirty poors from having a vote. I'd also argue that if you simply open a property in a ...
Interesting to see that the parties of "one man, one vote" deciding that being able to vote multiple times is actually OK - as long as you're a landlord. Local Electoral (Abolition of the Ratepayer Roll) Amendment Bill — First Reading - New Zealand ...
But, on the other hand, Peters may have been trolling the media who have said virtually nothing about MP claims that Maori have superior DNA.. The fact this is reported only on a few random media sites suggests the NZ media are very biased in how they ...
It reminds me of an anecdote from Suetonius: When Caesar was consul (59BC), he so thoroughly sidelined his colleague (a guy called Bibulus for those playing along at home) he was forced to barricade himself in his home and refused to participate in public ...
It was fascinating to hear our (putative) Prime Minister bothsiding his (putative) deputy's remarks and calling for a return to civility in politics on RNZ National this morning. Yet again, the right has proven itself to be incredibly thin skinned by ...
I'd argue that Metiria threw the party under the bus rather than the other way around. It wasn't even the WINZ fraud thing: it was not doing her homework, paying it back beforehand, and having a clearly thought-out plan for dealing with the blowback. Brave...
I've got plenty of sentiments about the misuse of an MP's power and position in general, and Barabara Kuriger in particular. However, bothsidesing isn't really a valid counterargument to repeated failures to either select candidates that are prepared for ...
The actual fuck? https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350212958/green-mp-suspended-amid-migration-exploitation-claims I'm an enormous believer in increasing POC and Maori representation in Parliament, but who the hell is vetting the Green Party's candidates!? ...
To be fair, I think the original commenter was referring to India pioneering the non-aligned movement during the Cold War. Certainly, their foreign policy has moved on somewhat since the fall of the Soviet Union, their ongoing tensions with China, the ...
Jono, India definitely has the option to be (and remain) neutral in any face off between the two great powers. As a big player itself, it's got the size, economic influence, and military clout to chart its own course. And its own long-standing vendettas to...
Yes: Israel is committing egregious war crimes and engaging in what could arguably be defined as ethnic cleansing under international law. And no, no country, and none of the international institutions that we trust will stop this kind of stuff from ...
Nope, that was actually a serious post. Because, in all honesty, wishcasting is a really shitty basis on which to organise your foreign policy.
I think this is delusional, nostalgia filtered nonsense pining for a past that never existed. And a piss weak argument for a foreign policy that would deliver us no advantages while at the same time irritate China, the US, and Australia. New Zealands ...
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