Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, February 10th, 2012 - 51 comments
New Zealand schools achieve excellent results and are very cost effective. The Nats are determined to break this great system via the introduction of national standards. They’re ignoring the advice of their own experts, and all the international evidence. But will they be able to ignore the now self-evident failure of standards based testing in America, as Obama pulls the plug on No Child Left Behind?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 10th, 2012 - 24 comments
Armed Police assisted by the Eagle helicopter, the counter-terrorism unit, customs officials, and the police launch towed on its trailer have raided Prime Minister John Key’s Parnell mansion, executing warrants relating to the illegal ‘DJ Key’ election ad. Simultaneously, a joint Police-SAS taskforce has stormed RadioLive, deploying teargas and tasering all present.
Written By: - Date published: 5:40 pm, February 9th, 2012 - 12 comments
Radio Live and the Prime Minister pushed the boat out in the PM’s hour programme. Radio Live sought Electoral Commission’s advice two days before broadcast, though they had been planning it for months. When Key’s office got the Commission’s warning to be careful, an internal memo said “the Electoral Commission have been pretty clear about putting the responsibility on the broadcaster, which is useful”. The Electoral Commission has now sunk Radio Live’s argument that it was ok if it didn’t discuss politics.
Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, February 9th, 2012 - 80 comments
There’s a few interesting threads to the Kim Dotcom saga. Should merely providing a tool that can be used for piracy be a crime? Did the alleged offences justify a 70-strong armed police raid or was this more heavy-handed showing off by the cops? And, if Dotcom really is such a bad guy, why did National let him come to live in New Zealand in the first place?
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, February 9th, 2012 - 43 comments
The Electoral Commission’s decision on the ‘DJ Key’ hour on RadioLive has been leaked. It shows that Key’s hour-long DJ spot was an election ad. It’s the only sensible decision. Key was clearly on the show to promote his brand to win votes. He made several political comments. RadioLive now faces a $100,000 fine for perverting our election. And Key’s reputation takes another hit.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 9th, 2012 - 20 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 pm, February 8th, 2012 - 87 comments
Publicly attack an All Black and loving father for how he chooses to raise his child. This isn’t about the rights and wrongs of breast vs formula vs expressing. I can’t speak to the science of that. But I’ll tell you that La Leche, Plunket, and the Council of Midwives have done massive damage to their own cause with this PR fiasco. Just pure, arrogant stupidity.
Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, February 8th, 2012 - 19 comments
The UN High Level Panel on Global Sustainability has delivered a report about creating a future that’s sustainable economically, socially and environmentally. Our government and political parties should be looking at it and measuring themselves against it.
Written By: - Date published: 10:17 pm, February 6th, 2012 - 21 comments
I’ve just watched John Key say on Sky Australia “We don’t need the Maori Party – we have the votes for stable government.” But without the Maori Party, all we’ve got is an Epsom government. It hangs by a thread on the teacup meeting between Parnell resident Key and Epsom candidate Banks. Key’s dogwhistle to Epsom voters is all that guarantees National’s “mandate” for asset sales.
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, February 6th, 2012 - 20 comments
David Shearer wants to move the New Year’s and Queen’s Birthday honours to Waitangi Day. I reckon that’s a goer. If honourees were advised ahead of time, they could attend a public ceremony at Waitangi, to add to all the other events. With thousands there, it would be a much more public celebration of their contributions to our society and bring a positive focus to the day.
Written By: - Date published: 11:57 pm, February 3rd, 2012 - 11 comments
After the horrifying attack on a 5-year old tourist in Turangi in December, Kiwis showed their compassion, and their shame, by donating over $62,000 to the family. Now, the family has said they don’t blame the community and have used some of the donations to fund children’s play equipment in Turangi and medical equipment for the children’s wing of Waikato hospital.
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, February 3rd, 2012 - 115 comments
Public education is the cornerstone of a good country and a buoyant economy. And New Zealanders have long enjoyed the benefits that come to them individually, to their families, their communities, their country, and the economy from having access to quality public education. But all this now seems under attack from a small group of Treasury officials.
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, February 1st, 2012 - 33 comments
There was some maintenance done on the main NZ server last night. All looked ok when I went to sleep at about 6am, but appears to have started having problems from about 8:30 onwards with intermittently waiting on some network resource. Problem looks external to my server and the server’s support staff are chasing it …
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 pm, January 31st, 2012 - 51 comments
Donations over $30,000 from the same source must be declared to the Electoral Commission within 10 working days. National overstepped the mark in declaring a total donation of $86,005 from Gallagher Industries outside the limit. These days the Electoral Commission doesn’t get involved – the penalty is a fine of up to $40,000 on summary conviction.
Written By: - Date published: 6:54 pm, January 31st, 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
We need better answers than just “stricter enforcement” to solve the copyright debate – we need some fresh ideas.
Written By: - Date published: 6:49 pm, January 31st, 2012 - 21 comments
…or is National’s “Ethnic Team” so tokinist it’s kinda racist in it’s own right?
I mean it’s not like there’s a facebook group for National’s Old White Men Team.
Oh wait, there is.
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, January 26th, 2012 - 25 comments
Christchurch has been back in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. What’s going on behind the public narrative of a tough and resilient populace soldiering on in the face of all these obstacles?
Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, January 24th, 2012 - 1 comment
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here
Police and Armed Offender units raided the Meriwether Community Kindergarten just after morning tea, but the raid turned violent when some of the children put up a fight.
Written By: - Date published: 6:34 pm, January 20th, 2012 - 14 comments
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here
Scott’s take on Red Alert’s cult of David Farrar.
Written By: - Date published: 11:31 pm, January 11th, 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
Scott’s take on John Key’s contribution to The New Zealand Literature Heritage Trail booklet.
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 pm, January 11th, 2012 - 2 comments
Is the title of the independent High Pay Commission’s report set up to look at “the reasons for the gap between high and low pay in the UK and why this matters.” It is very good and well worth a read. Christchurch City Council CEO’s Tony Marryatt, whose pay late last year rocketed up by $68,000 to $585,000 on a 7-5 split vote, should take note. So should Mayor Bob Parker and the other 6 – the protest goes on.
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, January 11th, 2012 - 65 comments
Generating a false crisis to justify their ideological policies is a classic rightwing tactic. Key gravely pronounces the system is ‘broken’ and their policy is the solution. Education has been victim to this bullshit. But OECD stats show that we have the best value for money education in the world. How will National justify their ideological assault on teachers now?
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, January 9th, 2012 - 21 comments
Here we go – the DomPost offers advice to Shearer on welfare policy, based on a Guardian article by Liam Byrne, British Labour welfare spokesperson. Trevor Mallard, our America’s Cup spokesperson, quotes him on Red Alert as “slaying some sacred cows.” Beveridge and Savage are used in ways they never envisaged. Savage at least had it right – jobs are the priority, not beneficiary-bashing.
Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, January 7th, 2012 - 57 comments
After blissful isolation in the bush, it’s a shock to come back and read of more earthquakes, the government bullying the media, port workers having to strike to get an inflation-rate pay raise, more road deaths, and today’s balloon tragedy in Carterton. Not to mention government massacre in Kazakhstan and rising violence in Syria. Looks like 2012′s going to be another tough one.
Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, January 4th, 2012 - 35 comments
I read Colin James’s piece on the need for a resilient economy/society in yesterday’s ODT. A competent explanation of a risks facing New Zealand and an acknowledgement that New Zealand needs to design itself to withstand and exploit them. Nothing new to readers of The Standard. But are we building that resilience? James offers no opinion. The answer is ‘no’.
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 am, January 1st, 2012 - 26 comments
To everyone in the Standard community – Happy New Year!
We hope 2012 finds you all safe and well and ready for another year of arguing about politics 
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, December 31st, 2011 - 9 comments
Ralph Hotere has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Given his contribution to art and to the political discourse this is well deserved.
Congratulations Ralph, from all of us here at the Standard.
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 31st, 2011 - 140 comments
Scott at ImperatorFish has a look at the moral blame game that some use when violence is used against children. If people want to talk about a lack of values, they could start with the set of neoliberal values during the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. We are still paying the price for the massive trauma caused to communities in the name of greed.
Written By: - Date published: 11:29 pm, December 30th, 2011 - 31 comments
FFS: If you are going to confess your foibles to Facebook, then don’t let a low-grade sociopath have access to your dribblings. Not only is it going to be embarrassing to you after you sober up. But you are going to find that every other border line nutter has liked it all over the net. A few simple rules when you are sober will prevent the problem.
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 pm, December 30th, 2011 - 1 comment
Scott at ImperatorFish is worried. A National Party MP’s colleagues have become increasingly concerned about his wellbeing, after he failed for two consecutive days to make a fool of himself on Twitter. Concerns were raised when colleagues of Tau Henare realised that they had not noticed a single social media brainfart from the list MP for over 48 hours.
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