Author Archive

Explaining is losing (but only in politics)

Written By: - Date published: 6:24 am, April 9th, 2018 - 48 comments

Politics is war by other means and nobody likes losing.

Still in Denial.

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, April 4th, 2018 - 46 comments

General Tim Keating’s resignation.

Hope – A powerful but dangerous tool.

Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, April 2nd, 2018 - 27 comments

Some interesting musings on hope and dashed hope by “Upper Hutt boy in London” –  Nick Kelly.

Food security in New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 6:12 am, March 14th, 2018 - 28 comments

The Standard regular commenter Macro takes a look at the state of food security in NZ

Stop Using the ‘F’ Word.

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, February 13th, 2018 - 41 comments

Because words matter.

The Housing Crisis.

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, February 11th, 2018 - 154 comments

Can politics deliver?

Did you hear about the killer who got pulled over for speeding?

Written By: - Date published: 6:27 am, February 2nd, 2018 - 36 comments

Re-education may be the key to improving NZ driving habits.

Ruminations on deprivation

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, January 29th, 2018 - 172 comments

Man gets wet feet. Is reminded of privilege.

The Adventures of CosmoGuy: US Ambassador to New Zealand (and Samoa!)

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, December 29th, 2017 - 3 comments

The alleged ‘thoughts’ of Scott Brown, the highly intelligent and very cool ambassador of the Partisan States of America to NooZiland. In an exposition of typical blinding intelligence, he tries to explain to his beloved Orange Lord what he is doing here (and in Samoa!).

Teggtalk: Trump-Like Climate Science Meddling by NZ Ministers

Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, December 22nd, 2017 - 29 comments

Denis Tegg has been responsible for showing that the previous Government stonewalled and hid a report prepared by the Ministry for the Environment which warned local bodies of the threats posed by sea level rises caused by climate change.

Guest Post: Monbiot, Attenborough and Soper on environmental collapse

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, December 6th, 2017 - 44 comments

Guest post by Ed about the intellectual rigour of George Monbiot and David Attenborough and the rater strange response of Barry Soper.

Minister puts sustainability, and government’s reputation at risk

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, November 15th, 2017 - 33 comments

A guest post by Christine Rose on Fishing Minister Stuart Nash’s strange decision to delay the implementation of video surveillance on fishing ships and the implications for endangered Maui’s dolphins.

The Accidental Bodyguards of Capitalism

Written By: - Date published: 6:33 am, November 15th, 2017 - 69 comments

What does it mean to look beyond capitalism? We do not yet know what it will look like because we have not yet ventured out from our caves.

Beneficiary for life: the joys of permanent disability in present day NZ

Written By: - Date published: 6:42 am, November 10th, 2017 - 111 comments

What happens to long term beneficiaries who can’t increase their income with paid work?

Aquifer recharge

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, October 31st, 2017 - 44 comments

Lifelong angler John Hodgson explains why the water table in Canterbury and what we are doing to it matters.

(post updated with recommendations)

 

Free Education – how to pay for it

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, October 28th, 2017 - 85 comments

I am a New Zealander living in Norway lecturing at NTNU, Norway’s largest University. For the last few months I have been thinking about the challenges of providing free post-secondary education. Norway offers free education for all students including international students.

Begone, capitalism! You don’t own me

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, October 25th, 2017 - 73 comments

Do we want to be owned by capitalism and stay in its trap of wage and debt slavery, or do we want to boldly go to post-capitalism, whatever that might be.

Into the Vortex of Confirmation Bias: why we won’t be able to figure out which way Winston will go…

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 14th, 2017 - 160 comments

Every morning, as the waiting for Winston to decide continues to fray my fragile psyche, I can look at myself in the mirror, contemplate my own frenzied speculative hopes for an Ardern Prime Ministership, and immediately think of a host of strong social-methodological reasons why all such speculation is futile.

Guest post: Deconstructing yet another National has moral right to govern argument

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, October 11th, 2017 - 41 comments

A guest post by Swordfish on the implausibility of the claims by Dr Claire Robinson’s odd claim that the 2017 election result was a win for the status quo.

Arrival

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, October 9th, 2017 - 61 comments

Incognito writes about the need for a new narrative in politics and how the Green movement is providing one that takes us beyond neoliberalism and unfettered capitalism.

There is hope

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, October 4th, 2017 - 22 comments

Anarchism and democracy.

Resistance is futile …

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 2nd, 2017 - 100 comments

The Standard regular Incognito writes about the unique voice the Greens bring to NZ politics and why a coalition deal with National would be the end of that.

We need a new version of MMP

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, October 1st, 2017 - 124 comments

This guest post looks at the ways that the national governments in Scotland and Wales operate. Their functional systems are effectively MMP, but they break up their list into regional areas which makes it easier to gain the voters to put regional issues into the wider debate.

Our Nation’s Stolen Generation Moment

Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, September 16th, 2017 - 8 comments

A guest post by @invisiphilia on the recent Mahinarangi Forbes interview on the Hui on the abuse of children in foster care and why the Government is wrong in refusing to have a proper independent inquiry into what went wrong.

Do you want to keep me in poverty?

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, September 15th, 2017 - 148 comments

If you want to know exactly how, then read on.

Guest Post: The Spectre of the Bloody Fetus Placard

Written By: - Date published: 12:40 pm, September 11th, 2017 - 2 comments

Reprinted with permission from Julia Schiller’s blog Enough is Enough.  Julia analyses Abortion politics in New Zealand and details a recent interaction she had with National MP Simon O’Connor.

Light Rail no Panacea for Wellington transport

Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, August 23rd, 2017 - 21 comments

In just a couple of month’s time the Greater Wellington Regional will start an $11m project to dismantle the trolley bus system. Council Tramways Union Vice President Chris Morley talks about why light rail for Wellington is unlikely to ever happen, and why it doesn’t need to.

Wellington’s Trolley Buses – why they should stay

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, August 21st, 2017 - 76 comments

Trolley buses make sense for the environment and for people who drive them. But in just a couple of month’s time the Greater Wellington Regional will start an $11m project to dismantle the trolley bus system. Council Tramways Union Vice President Chris Morley writes about why this is a huge mistake.

Guest post – Marja Lubeck – Labour list candidate

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, August 19th, 2017 - 44 comments

Guest post by Labour list and Rodney candidate Marja Lubeck on why she became involved in politics.

This is life on a benefit for ill and disabled people

Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, August 16th, 2017 - 68 comments

A must read Guest Post for anyone thinking about poverty and welfare this election – a former social scientist turned welfare beneficiary speaks out on WINZ’s state-sponsored neglect of more than 84,000 long-term disabled New Zealanders.

Messages for the Left

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, August 6th, 2017 - 107 comments

Kōrero Pono writes about the class divide within the parliamentary Left and the importance of the wider Left’s message in this election.

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