Author Archive
Another poll
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, August 9th, 2010 - 17 comments
For the poll junkies – yes there’s been another poll. It’s headed “Labour make gains”, but it’s margin of error stuff, so don’t get too excited.
Do we feel lucky?
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, August 7th, 2010 - 23 comments
“Global climate talks appear to have slipped backward after five days of negotiations in Bonn, the chief U.S. delegate said Friday, adding that some countries were reneging on promises they made last year to cut greenhouse gas emissions”.
Maori flag over prisons
Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, August 5th, 2010 - 36 comments
Pita Sharples wants Maori flag to fly over prisons to raise prisoners’ morale. What a bizarre and useless suggestion. Instead, how about alleviating the poverty that is the main driver of crime?
Key and Peters best buddies?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 4th, 2010 - 58 comments
Key hasn’t ruled out working with Winston after 2011. This seems like a huge miscalculation. Not only has he added legitimacy to the re-animation of this political zombie, but he has also cut the legs out from under the right’s “Winston is the devil” campaign. That giant sucking sound you hear? That’s DPF’s head imploding.
For the economic record
Written By: - Date published: 6:03 am, August 3rd, 2010 - 130 comments
John Key trotted out a huge lie in Parliament last week: “It took 9 years for Labour to make a complete and utter mess of the economy; it might take a bit longer than that for us to sort it out”. Let’s compare National and Labour’s economic records shall we.
Labour 12% ahead in the polls!
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, August 2nd, 2010 - 32 comments
I’m very pleased to report that Labour has leapt to a dramatic 12% lead in the opinion polls over National! It’s looking good for 2011! Bravo Phil Goff and the rest of the Labour team.
Sucking up to Banksie
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, July 31st, 2010 - 17 comments
I know that The Herald likes to campaign for the Right, but surely this overdose of sucking up to “Banksie” sets new records?
Brown for democracy
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, July 30th, 2010 - 25 comments
I’d vote Brown for Mayor of the Supercity. He got me with his first big policy announcement, to strengthen the role of local boards in Auckland.
That puts the ball in John Banks’ court. Will there a bidding war to restore local democracy?
Key’s lies are nothing new
Written By: - Date published: 11:39 am, July 29th, 2010 - 27 comments
The Nats lied and promised their way in to an election win in 2008. That was always going to make it difficult for them as the honeymoon glow wore off. Now Key is lying about the failure on one of their biggest empty promises of all.
The lungs of the planet
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, July 29th, 2010 - 38 comments
The warning indicators of an impending ecological collapse keep piling up. Forests get most of the headlines, but in many ways the oceans are the lungs of the planet. And they’ve been smoking 30 a day for too long.
NZF dodges the Lhaws bullet
Written By: - Date published: 4:27 pm, July 28th, 2010 - 43 comments
Must admit my heart sank this morning when I read that “Winston Peters and his former adviser Michael Laws are to team up again as part of a “relaunch†of the party this year”…
Workers and Dear John
Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, July 28th, 2010 - 35 comments
National is making a total mess of industrial relations. Two different news items yesterday tell the same story: the unions are angry, and the PPTA teachers are angry. Nats beware. Nice Mr Key could so quickly become Dear John…
Truth out on wars
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, July 27th, 2010 - 13 comments
Deputy PM and leader of the Lib Dems, Nick Clegg, caused a bit of a sensation last week when he pronounced Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war illegal. And yesterday Wikileaks published a massive cache of American military files exposing the truth about the war in Afghanistan. Not a good week for warmongers.
Promises
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, July 26th, 2010 - 14 comments
When is a promise not a promise? Clearly John Key has promises that he is afraid to break, promises that he tries to break (and backs down when caught), and promises that he feels he can break with impunity.
Retirement age
Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, July 23rd, 2010 - 20 comments
Brash’s call for a “flexible pension” is the thin end of the wedge leading to a rise in the age of eligibility for super. At the moment National are rejecting his call, as Key would be obliged to resign if the age is raised. But the problem remains. National have weakened Labour’s Cullen fund and KiwiSaver, and they seem to have no ideas of their own…
Empty promises on employment law
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, July 22nd, 2010 - 29 comments
National’s promises aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on. They’ve broken plenty and downgraded most of the rest to “aspirational goals”. Now John Key’s current anti-worker employment policies add a whole new chapter to the list of broken election promises.
The euthanasia debate
Written By: - Date published: 3:15 pm, July 21st, 2010 - 21 comments
A terminally-ill Auckland doctor writes to New Zealand Doctor magazine arguing for the legalisation of euthanasia in New Zealand.
Mining backdown – Nats split?
Written By: - Date published: 2:28 pm, July 20th, 2010 - 48 comments
Well done Kiwis! A rousing show of solidarity and strength has forced the Nats to back down from their plans to mine Schedule 4 land. We have preserved some of the most precious places in our country for future generations. This is a straight craven backdown driven by Key’s relentless need to remain Mr Popular. But whatever the reason – its the right result!
Haiti: six months on
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, July 18th, 2010 - 5 comments
The 24 hour news cycle. The 20 second slot. The soundbite. The pithy headline. We have short attention spans. Today’s tragedy is yesterday’s dim memory. I am usually as guilty as most, and this article in The Guardian was a sharp reminder. Haiti: six months on.
Financial regulation in USA
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, July 17th, 2010 - 17 comments
The recent global recession represented a spectacular failure of unfettered capitalism. We never felt the full force and completeness of that failure because the worst was averted – or rather just delayed – by vast injections of Government bailout money. America has learned its lesson, yesterday passing the strictest restrictions on banks and Wall Street since the Great Depression.
Fixing the election date
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, July 17th, 2010 - 10 comments
Pundit writer and legal academic Andrew Geddis has been doing some important work on electoral law, including contributions to the select committee that is looking at the 2011 referendum on MMP and the reform of campaign funding practices. You should head on over to Pundit and have a look.
What’s a university to do?
Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, July 16th, 2010 - 38 comments
Some people still think of universities as fusty old ivory towers disconnected from the real world. That hasn’t been true for decades. Our current universities and tertiary institutions are business, they are structured and run to maximise their income in whatever funding framing the government of the day has in place. Predictably, the Nats latest proposed sausage machine funding model is a disaster.
Arming the police
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, July 15th, 2010 - 123 comments
In the shadow of recent police shootings we are being presented with the idea of increased police access to firearms as a virtual fait accompli. I’m opposed to the proposal. It won’t make the police any safer, and it will put the public at risk.
A flower too far?
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, July 14th, 2010 - 14 comments
John Banks has put his foot in it again, and his sanctimonious claims about ratepayers’ money are looking ever more hypocritical. But I don’t want to know how much other politicians are spending on flowers, I really don’t care. I think the pendulum has swung too far in terms of examining the minute of the spending of public figures.
Who’d be an MP?
Written By: - Date published: 7:14 am, July 13th, 2010 - 12 comments
Who’d be an MP? In many ways it’s a dog of a job, and the prospect of really “making a difference” seems remote. Politics seems to bring out the worst in people, and too many politicians have earned the low esteem in which they are held by the public. But despite all this, some people are drawn to politics for all the right reasons. Good on you all. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
Standards headlines
Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, July 12th, 2010 - 11 comments
Two different headlines on national standards this morning paint an interesting picture. Tolley is a disgrace and her national standards are worse. Get rid of both of them.
Good news: Solar powered flight
Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, July 11th, 2010 - 16 comments
An experimental solar-powered plane completed its first 24-hour test flight successfully Thursday, proof of concept that an aircraft can collect enough energy from the sun during the day to fly all night. The eventual goal is to fly it round the world…
Williams and Haden
Written By: - Date published: 1:06 pm, July 11th, 2010 - 6 comments
Minor bits of “people news” this weekend. Andrew Williams has thrown his hat in to the ring for Supercity Mayor. And Andy Haden has finally been fired resigned from his role as RWC Ambassador (exit stage right, still blaming the media).
Landlord charges market rent
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, July 10th, 2010 - 10 comments
Thousands of tenants in Auckland’s CBD face rent rises from next year as the landlords start, after a 15 year moratorium, to charge market rental. Why is that news? Ahh well, read on…
Child support
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, July 9th, 2010 - 48 comments
According to the headlines “Inland Revenue is owed more than $1.8 billion by parents who have shirked their financial responsibilities”. Dig a bit deeper and the picture is not as bad as it looks. “Absent dads” don’t need to be demonised by the likes of Bob McCoskrie.
Socialist football
Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, July 8th, 2010 - 32 comments
I thought Germany were going to power in to the finals – but Spain had other plans! Funny old game. According to football legend John Barnes the best football teams are socialist in nature. They play for each other, and individual brilliance is often subservient to the common good…
Recent Comments