Author Archive
Paid parental leave bill progresses – towards veto
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, September 17th, 2015 - 30 comments
Last night in Parliament Labour MP Sue Moroney’s bill extending paid parental leave to 26 weeks passed its first reading by one vote, with only National and ACT opposed.
Corbyn rides a commie bike!
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, September 16th, 2015 - 100 comments
The subtle and not so subtle demonisation of Jeremy Corbyn by England’s establishment media is going to be something to behold.
Hot hotter hottest
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, September 15th, 2015 - 102 comments
Plenty of distractions in the political circus at the moment, but meanwhile…
UK – Cameron loses his shit, new members flood to Labour
Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, September 14th, 2015 - 183 comments
Refugee crisis a taste of things to come
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, September 12th, 2015 - 75 comments
The current refugee crisis is but a taste of the climate refugee crisis to come. But it according to Key it’s fine, because it won’t be a problem in the next year or two.
Inside National’s spin machine
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, September 11th, 2015 - 81 comments
A very interesting post in The Herald yesterday by Grant McLachlan (former Parliamentary researcher and a Nat campaign director) detailing National’s well resourced and well organised spin machine.
Flag process a missed opportunity
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, September 10th, 2015 - 123 comments
Any new flag for NZ should have been a unifying symbol. Instead Key has turned the referendum into a divisive process. Faced with four crap flag choices we’ll probably vote for no change and the whole stupid $26m process will have been a complete waste of time and money. Ludicrous.
Sanders leads Clinton
Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, September 9th, 2015 - 44 comments
Sanders in America, Corbyn in England. If they both win, does this mark a resurgence of the political left?
Those who would censor
Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, September 8th, 2015 - 106 comments
NZ’s first book banning in over 20 years. Another own goal from “Family First”.
The Rainbow Warrior apology
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, September 7th, 2015 - 22 comments
The French secret service agent who attached the mines which sank the Rainbow Warrior has stated an emotional apology during an interview. While the apology is welcome, it changes nothing.
Red Peak
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, September 5th, 2015 - 296 comments
I’m no fan of the flag process. I think its a waste of money and a distraction from the real issues. I don’t think there has been any public sign of engagement or interest to be worth commenting on. Until now. Red peak for the compromise win?
Christchurch – rhetoric and reality
Written By: - Date published: 11:37 am, September 4th, 2015 - 29 comments
Today is five years since the first of the Canterbury / Christchurch earthquakes. Christchurch voices are calling out for leadership.
A schools league table that we need
Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, September 4th, 2015 - 15 comments
The Nats have created the (spurious) data for school “league tables” so that parents can be fully informed and make choices, so they tell us. But it seems that parents don’t deserve to be fully informed about the dangerous physical health of schools. That would be just too inconvenient.
Greens’ climate discussion paper
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, September 4th, 2015 - 122 comments
The Greens are attempting something remarkable, a plan that is economically credible, but set in the context of realistic environmental constraints. Did they succeed?
Market forces
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, September 3rd, 2015 - 70 comments
Rosemary Macleod on the flag and market forces. Danyl Mclauchlan on the refugee disaster, market forces, and Key. Is this our New Zealand?
Bread and circuses. Hold the bread.
Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, September 1st, 2015 - 16 comments
Peter Lyons hits the nail on the head in Nothing but spin coming from our Government. Garner misses the point in National gets a case of the dreaded third-termitis.
Away with the economic fairies
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, September 1st, 2015 - 40 comments
The ANZ survey shows business confidence at the lowest levels since the financial crisis. Yesterday John Key insisted that it was “reasonably positive”. He was either completely wrong or lying through his teeth. Either way it’s unacceptable.
Border Force fiasco – how would NZ respond?
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, August 29th, 2015 - 128 comments
Yesterday Melbourne stood up for human rights. Would we in NZ have done the same?
Another farm death
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, August 28th, 2015 - 23 comments
Last night the Nats passed their widely ridiculed health and safety legislation. This morning a Waikato farm worker died in a workplace accident. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Watkins on health and safety mess
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, August 27th, 2015 - 17 comments
“John Key’s increasingly lacklustre defence of the shambles consists of answers that sound more like satire by the day.”
Nats losing it on the TPP
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, August 27th, 2015 - 73 comments
National are trying to evade even the simplest questions on the TPP – because the truth is profoundly undemocratic. As usual Groser and Key turn to insults instead of engaging with people’s legitimate concerns.
Herald poll
Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, August 26th, 2015 - 89 comments
Another data point from the poll mill.
Those abused in state care deserve apology
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, August 25th, 2015 - 9 comments
The report of the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service highlights a shameful chapter in NZ history. What possible reason could there be for the government not to apologise directly to the victims?
Serco has yet more explaining to do
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, August 24th, 2015 - 10 comments
New allegations that at least one Serco prison guard was active involved in Mt Eden’s “fight club”. In some ways the public mess that Serco has made of Mt Eden has done us all a favour
National scared of farmers?
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, August 24th, 2015 - 41 comments
As the worm turns, the Nats are all over the place on health and safety. Andrew Little suggests that National is “terrified of the farming lobby”. Something sure has to explain the fact that they ended up fronting this crock.
Would the last journalist to leave The Herald please turn out the lights
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, August 23rd, 2015 - 30 comments
The Herald is shedding journalists. Dita De Boni will be particularly missed.
Charter $chools
Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, August 22nd, 2015 - 20 comments
Today’s Herald has an excellent piece on charter schools – School cash flows to owners’ pockets. What a surprise!
Zero integrity on zero hours
Written By: - Date published: 2:53 pm, August 21st, 2015 - 4 comments
If you thought the Nats promising to sort out zero hours contracts was too good to be true — you were right.
Signs of a society under stress
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, August 21st, 2015 - 77 comments
The signs are all around us.
Gower and the 3 News ratings slump
Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, August 20th, 2015 - 68 comments
Seems like Hosking is not the only journalist attracting attention for his obvious pro-National bias.
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