Archive for April, 2009

Seriously good fun

Written By: - Date published: 6:25 pm, April 30th, 2009 - 5 comments

Entrenchment back on the agenda

Written By: - Date published: 5:18 pm, April 30th, 2009 - 44 comments

Good to see Labour pursuing a private member’s bill to entrench the Maori seats. Mita Ririnui, who’s lodging the bill, says it “will ensure that the Maori seats in Parliament will not be able to be abolished unless 75 per cent of MPs in any Parliament vote in favour of such a move. ‘The only […]

The Obama of the South Seas

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, April 30th, 2009 - 30 comments

The bizarre project to try to portray John Key as the Obama of the South Seas continues. Garth George today writes: “The new politics is being generated by two relatively young leaders, Prime Minister John Key and President Barack Obama, both of whom overcame less than desirable childhoods to succeed in business.” “succeed in business”… […]

Lane Walker Rudkin

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, April 30th, 2009 - 54 comments

I see poor management and a bitter marital tiff have put the jobs of 470 workers at Lane Walker Rudkin on the line and cast doubt on the future of yet another iconic Kiwi company. As the NDU’s Maxine Gay points out, communities like Timaru, Greytown and Pahiatua simply can’t afford to take a hit […]

Public holidays

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, April 30th, 2009 - 50 comments

If a Public Holiday falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, we should get the day off on the following Monday instead, like other countries. In 2011, Easter Sunday and ANZAC day will be the same day. Dumb. If Anzac Day coincides with another public holiday, the day off should be moved to the next […]

Fox firing at will

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, April 30th, 2009 - 13 comments

From Finsec’s blog, …the gossip: Fox TV is taking television to a new low with a new show with the working title Someone’s Gotta Go. The show will make ‘entertainment’ out of job cuts, with staff being able to vote for who should lose their job. The employees will have access to internal company information […]

Israel and Gaza on a Summer Mind

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 30th, 2009 - 11 comments

I think I can safely credit Israeli foreign policy with ruining my summer. If you’re the empathetic type it’s hard to go to the beach and swim in the sun while, several thousand miles beneath your feet, people are being killed en masse by people who should know better about how not to treat people […]

When liberals become illiberal

Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, April 29th, 2009 - 36 comments

Much as I disagree with those who oppose the freedom of same sex couples to marry, I also can’t stand those that attack the freedom of speech beyond reason. Whatever happened to “I disagree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it”? I’m referring to gay beauty pageant judge Perez […]

Jarring

Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, April 29th, 2009 - 49 comments

Today Phil Goff’s question to Key is: “Does he agree with the statements in the House by his Minister of Finance on 16 December 2008 that ‘Yes, I can confirm that National will not be going back on any of those promises, as we fully costed and funded them’?” His angle is obviously going to […]

On that Trevett piece

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, April 29th, 2009 - 23 comments

Continuing with today’s media criticism theme, I’ve got to disagree with my comrade Eddie’s post this morning about the Claire Trevett piece in the Herald where she appears to celebrate John Key’s obfuscation over his position on the supercity rather than demanding answers herself. While it would be easy to attribute the style of the […]

We deserve better

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, April 29th, 2009 - 12 comments

Duncan Garner on TV3 News According to the poll, 52.6 percent of voters agree the cuts should be cancelled, 37.9 percent say they should go ahead regardless and 9.5 percent did not know…. …But these results tonight will reassure Mr Key that voters understand he has to abandon the promise, and he is unlikely to […]

As bad as it gets

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, April 29th, 2009 - 48 comments

Clare Trevett grow up. You write a piece congratulating Key on making diversionary statements when he is asked serious questions about the supercity? I know your employer is chief propagandist for Key and the supercity but don’t you have any professional pride? You should be the one asking the questions, not cheering when the PM […]

It’s good enough for Wanganui

Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, April 29th, 2009 - 11 comments

Rodney Hide refuses to give Aucklanders their referendum on the supercity and one of the excuses he offers is the cost: “The difficulty with a referendum is it would cost a million dollars” So what kind of things do councils find it worthwhile holding referenda on? Here’s what the people of Wanganui got to vote […]

Gordon Campbell on the MoU

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 pm, April 28th, 2009 - 29 comments

Gordon Campbell’s latest Scoop column takes a very critical view of the Greens’ Memorandum of Understanding with National. While the Greens’ strategy is based on the need to cooperate with what they see as a likely two-term National Government, Campbell argues their cooperation may help turn that likelihood into a certainty. Despite the genuine merits […]

Focused on what matters

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 pm, April 28th, 2009 - 60 comments

So John Key has set his taxpayer paid researchers onto David Shearer. The best they can come up with is that 11 years ago Shearer advocated using regulated mercenaries on UN peacekeeping missions because nations like the US are often unwilling to commit their own troops. If Key, who is clearly obsessed with winning Mt Albert, (he made […]

What a joke

Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, April 28th, 2009 - 48 comments

This shows how meaningless tax cuts are. From last night’s TV3 poll: When you receive tax cuts this month [they began on April 1], do you think you will be most likely to spend it, save it, pay off debt or other? *Spend it 25.3 per cent *Save it 30.1 per cent *Pay off debt […]

Imagine.

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, April 28th, 2009 - 6 comments

Inspired by a forwarded e-mail about Obama’s speech to the NAS with this line in it Imagine Key committing to invest 3% of GDP in R&D Obama 27th April 2009 at the National Academy of Science I am here today to set this goal: we will devote more than three percent of our GDP to […]

The Backlash Begins

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, April 28th, 2009 - 43 comments

We’ve been warning that John Key faces a backlash in Auckland if he doesn’t rein in Rodney Hide and present a democratic supercity structure instead of the rort that is on the table now. We’re starting to see it. A poll out yesterday shows only 12% of people in Key’s own electorate support his government’s […]

Meeting tonight on Super City

Written By: - Date published: 12:27 pm, April 28th, 2009 - Comments Off on Meeting tonight on Super City

From Just Left: Tonight – Freemans Bay Community Centre – the Western Bays Community Board is holding a meeting from 6.30pm to discuss the Govt’s super-city proposal. Come along. It is nice to see that some parts of the Council do want to hear what residents think, rather than other parts who are buying into […]

Another one bites the dust

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, April 28th, 2009 - 52 comments

And so another of John Key’s “big ideas” is shown to have been costed by monkeys. Treasury study suggests fibre plan will fall short: A study commissioned by the Treasury has warned it would cost between $5.3 billion and $10.4b to connect three-quarters of New Zealand homes with fibre-optic cable using the Government’s preferred active […]

Random media comments

Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, April 28th, 2009 - 20 comments

Is there any point reading the NBR now Ben Thomas has left? Losing New Zealand’s most promising young journalist and getting Hooton, it’s like trying to replace a talking parrot that’s died with a slug – well it’s scarcely a replacement is it? Does the Trans-Tasman daydream about marrying Key? Because they sure do love […]

Drinking Liberally Auckland – the future of Auckland governance

Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, April 28th, 2009 - Comments Off on Drinking Liberally Auckland – the future of Auckland governance

Join all your favourite lefty liberal drinkers at Drinking Liberally Auckland When: 7pm, Wednesday 29 April Where: London Bar – corner Queen and Victoria Streets, Auckland CBD Who: you and like-minded left-wingers. All welcome. This month’s speaker is Mayor Len Brown talking about the opportunities and issues arising out of the Government’s proposal for restructuring […]

Strike at MIT

Written By: - Date published: 5:37 am, April 28th, 2009 - 12 comments

Members of the Tertiary Education Union at the Manukau Institute of Technology are striking. A TEU member explains the dispute: Basically lecturers at MIT are going on strike this week over workload pressures.  Last year the Institute cut all its admin staff, and surprise, everyone else’s workload increased.  Then this year, with the recession, heaps […]

Finsec petition: Make jobs a condition of bank guarantees

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 am, April 28th, 2009 - 4 comments

Does it strike anyone else as odd that at a time when taxpayers are guaranteeing the banking system with public funds, banks have made no such guarantee to their staff about job security? While the banks made combined profits in excess of $2.5 billion and CEOs recieve salary packages of more than $2 million each, […]

heh

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, April 27th, 2009 - 3 comments

Sent in by a Standard reader and avid lolcats fan:

An illiterate from another age

Written By: - Date published: 5:20 pm, April 27th, 2009 - 43 comments

I see that Michael Bassett has written about this site. However he doesn’t bother to check his facts or to keep up with current trends in online participation. It is a pity in a historian because he is obviously incapable of understanding how fast the world is changing. He seems to prefer to make either […]

New Left blog

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, April 27th, 2009 - Comments Off on New Left blog

Life and Politics, a centre-left blog by “post-grad politics student, coms freelancer and a former press secretary” Jake Quinn.

Budget 2009: Why not tax the rich?

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, April 27th, 2009 - 56 comments

With the Government openly preparing the public for spending cuts in the upcoming Budget, No Right Turn reminds us that there are alternatives – rather than cutting services and harming the poor, we could always raise taxes on those who can most afford it. The state of New York is doing this, hiking state income […]

Don’t fear the reaper

Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, April 27th, 2009 - 20 comments

The Government’s response to the recession so far has been to curl up in a ball and hope it will go away. Incredibly, while the economy is shrinking, the Government is destimulating it further by cutting public services. The excuse they give is that if the Government doesn’t reduce its borrowing, the credit ratings agencies […]

David Farrar on referenda and consultation

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, April 27th, 2009 - 85 comments

rOb comments on David Farrar’s sudden conversion to not needing a referendum on the Auckland super-city, when DPF’s previous history is to always favour consultation and referenda. It raises questions about the rapid changes in DPF’s beliefs post-election. DPF is the worst kind of hypocrite. In the past he has pontificated extensively on referenda and […]

Right’s excuses fall flat

Written By: - Date published: 5:56 pm, April 26th, 2009 - 40 comments

David Farrar, head of the Free Speech Coalition and renowned democracy fighter, has outlined the Right’s reasons for opposing letting the people of Auckland decide whether they want the Government’s proposed supercity. The post contains a bizarre level of personal abuse against Phil Goff but all that does is highlight the weakness of the actual […]