Open mike 10/02/2015

Written By:
Date published: 6:40 am, February 10th, 2015 - 186 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Captain’s Call

Written By:
Date published: 7:32 pm, February 9th, 2015 - 53 comments

Leaving Mike Sabin in charge of the Law and Order Select Committee was certainly a captain’s call by John Key. Just like Tony Abbott’s award of  a knighthood to the Duke (as if he needed more fruit salad), this was a judgment call. And it does call Key’s judgment into question. It’s not about when he knew what he knew, it’s about what he did when he knew.

Locking in housing inequality

Written By:
Date published: 3:20 pm, February 9th, 2015 - 37 comments

We are in the process of locking in inequality through the intergenerational ownership of housing, thus squeezing more and more mobility out of society.

Cult of “personality”

Written By:
Date published: 8:36 am, February 9th, 2015 - 56 comments

The latest bout of National’s cult of “personality” was on show at yesterday’s Big Gay Out

Hide vs Armstrong on Sabin

Written By:
Date published: 7:11 am, February 9th, 2015 - 114 comments

In which Rodney Hide writes the column that The Herald’s senior political reporter should have written…

Open mike 09/02/2015

Written By:
Date published: 6:30 am, February 9th, 2015 - 330 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

The War Club Family

Written By:
Date published: 7:35 pm, February 8th, 2015 - 73 comments

There’s a fascinating article in the latest New Statesman titled “An Empire that speaks English: the right’s dream of a new world order.” Suddenly UK Foreign Minister Philip Hammond’s recent visit here makes sense. So does John Key’s references to sending troops to Iraq on behalf of the “club” or the “family” – he’s at the heart of the Empire.

Is Tony’s tenure terminal?

Written By:
Date published: 2:41 pm, February 8th, 2015 - 47 comments

Over in Australia a spill motion scheduled for tomorrow may end Tony Abbott’s reign. Former PM Julia Gillard who famously lectured Abbott on his misogyny must be grinning from ear to ear. Update: Abbott has survived with the vote reported to be 61-39 against a spill. I suspect the left will be pleased …

Tino Rangatiratanga

Written By:
Date published: 7:51 am, February 8th, 2015 - 309 comments

It has been claimed that Andrew Little has advocated for Maori to have law making powers. What he has done is reflect on a recent Waitangi Tribunal decision which concluded that Maori never ceded sovereignty to the Crown and properly concluded that this is an issue that needs to be considered.

Open Mike 08/02/2015

Written By:
Date published: 7:16 am, February 8th, 2015 - 80 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

A concise description of the problems in the Middle East

Written By:
Date published: 5:18 pm, February 7th, 2015 - 40 comments

The complexity of the current Middle East situation explained in a single letter to the editor.

17 year old kiwi sits atop the world

Written By:
Date published: 4:17 pm, February 7th, 2015 - 15 comments

The only person to receive 100% in the world for her work was a young kiwi with only two years background. Read more here.      

Police told the Government about Sabin’s problems

Written By:
Date published: 7:30 am, February 7th, 2015 - 218 comments

Police Commissioner Mike Bush has essentially confirmed that under the no surprises policy the Police told either Anne Tolley or Michael Woodhouse or both about the Police investigation into Mike Sabin. The issue will be when they were told. If this occurred before the time that Labour told the Prime Minister’s office about Sabin’s difficulties the veracity of what John Key has told us will have to be questioned.

Open mike 07/02/2015

Written By:
Date published: 7:15 am, February 7th, 2015 - 135 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Weekend social 06/02/2015

Written By:
Date published: 2:00 pm, February 6th, 2015 - 28 comments

Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?

Guest Post – Waitangi Day, build a bridge and get over it

Written By:
Date published: 8:48 am, February 6th, 2015 - 30 comments

A Guest Post by David Meech presenting an irreverent view of Waitangi day, and New Zealand history and culture.

Open mike 06/02/2015

Written By:
Date published: 7:00 am, February 6th, 2015 - 230 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Better to Jaw Jaw than War War

Written By:
Date published: 5:36 pm, February 5th, 2015 - 112 comments

Perhaps John Key should consider a Churchillian thought before he rushes to send our young to die in Iraq.

A calculated feeding of the beasts within

Written By:
Date published: 2:13 pm, February 5th, 2015 - 76 comments

The social democracy of my youth has radically collapsed into our current culture of individualism, privatisation and personal greed.

The lie about productivity and wages

Written By:
Date published: 12:30 pm, February 5th, 2015 - 49 comments

The Productivity Commission has a new report out which looks at changes in the labour income share, or LIS, from 1978 to 2010. The labour income share is described in the report’s summary as: The labour income share (LIS) measures the split of national income between workers who supply labour and the owners of capital. […]

Orewa – 11 years on

Written By:
Date published: 9:48 am, February 5th, 2015 - 51 comments

Has it really been 11 years since Brash’s infamous Orewa speech? Yesterday Gareth Morgan gave a very different kind of speech there…

AFFCO Talley’s and Jobs That Count

Written By:
Date published: 7:21 am, February 5th, 2015 - 9 comments

Darien Fenton at Jobs That Count brings us the details of the fight for decent pay and conditions at Talley’s meat processing plants

Open mike 05/02/2015

Written By:
Date published: 6:40 am, February 5th, 2015 - 256 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Local Leadership

Written By:
Date published: 10:26 pm, February 4th, 2015 - 3 comments

The Labour Local Government Council ran a hui last Friday in Wellington. I went along and it was one of the better Labour events I have been to in a long time – community-based organisers sharing and discussing what works. Crosby/Textor is onto it too.

Just what Christchurch needed

Written By:
Date published: 4:25 pm, February 4th, 2015 - 14 comments

Our thoughts are with Christchurch as a huge fire rages to the west of the city.

So now it’s a family not a club

Written By:
Date published: 3:48 pm, February 4th, 2015 - 114 comments

John Key wanted to be in the Five Eyes “club”, but I guess that didn’t focus group well, so now we’re being fed a new line – “family”.

Unemployment up

Written By:
Date published: 2:27 pm, February 4th, 2015 - 40 comments

We need a much better analysis of what kinds of jobs and conditions are out there in NZ, crude figures are not telling us enough.

Andrew Little – principled politician

Written By:
Date published: 11:35 am, February 4th, 2015 - 302 comments

Issues surrounding Mike Sabin highlight the handling of the matter by Andrew Little. With commendable restraint he chose to privately notify the Prime Minister’s office that one of his MPs faced problems. And his recollection of matters is clearly better than Key’s recollection.

Open mike 04/02/2015

Written By:
Date published: 6:49 am, February 4th, 2015 - 302 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Emmerson on dirty political romps

Written By:
Date published: 2:11 pm, February 3rd, 2015 - 2 comments

emmerson-dirty-political-romps

The Sabin issue timeline

Written By:
Date published: 12:08 pm, February 3rd, 2015 - 277 comments

An analysis of the timeline and a reading of Cameron Slater’s comments concerning Mike Sabin raises real questions about the veracity of what Key has been saying to the media.  Update:  It appears that David Garrett and Rodney Hide have expressed views wondering if Key’s statement about when he was told is actually correct. Update:  And Matthew Hooton suggests that the Police may have advised the Government of the invesigation.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

No feed items found.
No feed items found.
No feed items found.
No feed items found.
Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-28T16:46:12+00:00